Manmade Beer

Cold Morning Maple Wheat - Opening

2011-06-02T20:35:00.000-04:00

Now this is starting the hot summer months off right...

The first beer I ever remember really enjoying was a witbier: Blue Moon. I had just turned 21, and my roommate brought home a six pack to share. Now, my tastes (read: preference for hops) have evolved a bit since then, and you won't catch me sneaking out to pick up a six pack of a witbier these days, but still, there are time when a good witbier is just right. It had been a while since I brewed one, and with the weather turning warmer, I was certainly eager to give this slightly modified recipe a try, and suffice to say, I'm pretty pleased.

It looks great from the start: slightly more golden and more clear than I'd expected. The aroma is fairly muted and the taste is less than bold, but both of these are fairly well in keeping with the style. It's the kind of beer you drink instead of lemonade or sweet tea on the front porch or the couch at the end of the day. It's not supposed to get your attention. To this end, it excels.

I should point out that the maple syrup taste isn't very noticeable at first, unless you know to look for it. As your glass warms up a bit though, it starts to be noticeable particularly in the aftertaste. I should also mention that at this point, this batch has been in the bottle three months, literally months longer than the I had originally intended to "give it." The taste has mellowed a bit of course, but the bottles that I opened at three to five weeks seemed fine.

All things considered, I probably wouldn't brew this one again until a little later in the year next year. I've enjoyed it, particularly over the past month, but it really feels like the time to be starting into this batch would have been just now, at the end of May/start of June.

Appearance	3.5	It's golden brown and with surprisingly good clarity for witbier, though not quite that of a lager. The head has been more than adequate in most bottles as well, though the retention hasn't been the best.
Aroma	3.5	It's weak, but what you can smell is sweet and wheat smelling as you might expect. All of this is in keeping with the style, in my experience.
Taste	3.0	It's not the most complex or pronounced beer I've ever had. It starts a little watery, then turns slightly sweet into a small but noticeable alcohol bite for an accent. This fade into a milder, wheaty aftertaste with the maple syrup taste only really becoming noticeable as the glass warms.
Mouthfeel	3.0	It's light and crisp like a good witbier should be.
Drinkability	3.5	This one goes down pretty easy, particularly in hot weather, and especially given the ABV.
Bottom Line	3.5	This is a great one to start the summer off. I wouldn't prefer it during any other season (and still would take a good IPA over it now), but this will certainly do in a pinch.

Mr. Beer Fall Seasonal - Opening

2011-06-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

A Fall brew should be good, especially in the Spring...

I LOVE a good fall seasonal. In fact, there isn't a better time of year to sneak into our local supermarket (or rather the restaurant inside the supermarket, thanks to these idiotic PA alcohol laws) and pick up a six pack of something as far as I'm concerned. Given this, I really had high hopes that this brew would get me through my post-fall withdrawal. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

From the pour, it looks like it's going to be a fine dark brown ale. The clarity is kind of middle of the road, and some of the bottles have even had nice heads on them. The aroma is light in keeping with the style as well, but from here on, it goes down hill pretty quickly. Unlike what I would have expected, there wasn't anything sweet about the taste. In fact, the most noticeable part of the taste is a jarring alcohol pop, and that's after more than ample conditioning time. The mouthfeel is a bit harsh too. After about half way through your glass, your mouth feels like you had about 3 beers and then went to bed without brushing your teeth. Needless to say, it's a bit of a struggle to get through just one glass, so forget about having a second.

When a batch comes out worse than you would have liked, it's always a question of whether the brew or the brewer is to blame. Now, I did have a bit of an issue will the beer mix not dissolving like it normally does, and there was quite a bit of trub at the bottom of the keg when it came to bottling time (see my previous entry). However, I wasn't really settled on what would have caused the issues, especially given that I followed the Mr. Beer instructions faithfully. It may not be as a result of issues like the ones I described above, but I did notice that Mr. Beer has changed up the Fall Seasonal mix for 2011. With a rebrew out of the question then (not that I would even consider it), I guess it will have to stay a mystery.

Appearance	3.5	It's dark brown, and I'd say it's just shy of a stout. The head has varied a bit from "give it a minute, then pour some more" to almost non-existent and everything in between.
Aroma	3.0	It's fairly weak, though not out of character for the style. What I do get is malty and slightly sour smelling.
Taste	2.0	It starts weak then comes a pretty pronounced alcohol pop, possibly the most pronounced alcohol pop of any of my brews. Next, the taste turns sour and lingers into the aftertaste. On the very end of the aftertaste, a slight alcohol tingle seems to return, oddly enough.
Mouthfeel	1.5	It feels a little harsh, and leaves a bit of an unpleasant, stale feel as you finish the glass.
Drinkability	1.5	The aforementioned alcohol bite and harsh mouthfeel really make this one a bit slow to drink.
Bottom Line	1.5	Fall seasonals are some of my favorite brews. This, unfortunately, was not one of my favorites.

Dubbel Trouble

2011-04-07T20:40:00.001-04:00

SRM: 24
IBU: 22
Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.019
ABV: 5.31%

Recipe ...

1 Can High Country Canadian Draft HME
1 Can Creamy Brown UME
13 Ounces of Booster

Kegging (2011-02-02)...
As this recipe was pretty much straight forward, I followed the Mr. Beer instructions pretty much all the way. I did heat the water while I was adding the Booster, however. I just find that it dissolves a little better that way. Speaking of the Booster, it's actually not a part of the Mr. Beer recipe. Like the Cold Morning Maple Wheat though, I had it and without another use for it, I decided to add it to the recipe.

Bottling (2011-02-28)...
The clarity is much improved over what it was at kegging of course, but still only average at this point. The is A LOT of foam at this point, more than I've every had before. It has me a little worried about exploding bottles, but a good Tupperware tote should contain anything, no matter how catastrophic. The aroma has a roasty, malty, beery feel, but it isn't overwhelming in the least. Conversely, the taste is pretty bold. It starts sweet, then turns malty then sour into a bitter (Canadian Draft) aftertaste. It's a little unbalanced at the moment, but honestly, not too bad.

I got 21 bottles (12 Dogfish Head, 6 Victory Yakama Glory, 3 Rude Elf's Reserve) before the trub came out, and they went into a red tote. I plan on letting this one go on the same schedule as the Cold Morning Maple Wheat: 2 weeks warm, 3 weeks cold and then a couple more weeks cold, if needed.

Cold Morning Maple Wheat

2011-04-07T19:22:00.001-04:00

This may be my most fermentable brew yet...

SRM: 15
IBU: 18
Original Gravity: 1.072
Final Gravity: 1.018
ABV: 7.49%

Recipe ...

1 Can Whispering Wheat Weizenbier HME
1 Can Golden Wheat UME
13 Ounces Booster
1 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Ounce Tettnanger Pellet Hops

I was fortunate enough to snag a few variety packs at Bed Bath and Beyond the day after Christmas for half price. These are basically just a three pack of standard refills (1 can of HME and a bag of booster). My plan (at least at the moment) is to add a can of UME to each plus hops, if the recipe calls for it until the refills are gone. Given that these are likely to have a higher ABV than I usual brew, fermentation and conditioning times will likely be a little extend, and it may slow down my brewing schedule as a result.

Kegging (2011-02-02)...
As you can see, the sheer amount of fermentable material in this recipe did push the ABV above what I typically get. I gave the hops a 20 minute boil before adding the Booster, syrup, and malt extracts. The Booster is actually in addition to the given Mr. Beer recipe, but I really didn't have another use for it anyway.

Bottling (2011-02-27)...
It looks something like apple juice (or rum, when it's in a shot glass) at this point. The clarity is actually pretty good, particularly for a witbier. The aroma is a little weak, but the maple does make it through what there is of a beer aroma. It has a wheaty, yeasty feel to it, as you might expect. It's a little sweeter than pretty much any of my brews that I can recall. The maple taste actually comes through on the end. It's got a pretty clean taste without an alcohol bite like I had expected from the high ABV.

I got 20 bottles from this batch (14 Southern Tier, 6 Bell's Red Ale), and they went into the gray tote. I plan on giving this one 2 weeks warm conditioning, followed by at least 3 weeks cold. Given the amount of ingredients, I won't be surprised if I need to give at least 2 more weeks cold conditioning to balance it out.

Howlin' Red Ale - Opening

2011-03-27T17:47:00.000-04:00

While not exactly red, the "ale" part is what really counts...

Well, I'm down to my last bottle which I've been holding on to for about 2 weeks while putting off this review. It's shameful, I know, but another move (second time in 2 years) has somewhat put a damper in my brewing and reviewing time. Thankfully, this move was just down the street, and we had some amazing help from some family who drove QUITE a ways just to help us out.

At this point, this batch has been in the bottle for about two and a half months, which is more than enough conditioning time.

Appearance: 2.5 - I'd call the color brown with a red tint. It's a little cloudy from the wheat UME, but not completely opaque. In fact, it looks a little watery. The head isn't the largest nor does it linger very long.

Aroma: 3.0 - The aroma is mostly hops with a slight sweet note. It's not particularly strong, but you don't have to really dig for it either.

Taste: 3.0 - The taste closely mirrors the bottling sample, only blended and more mellow, of course. It starts a little weak, then accents quickly before turning sour and transitioning into a tangy, citrus, and ever so slightly bitter aftertaste

Mouthfeel: 2.0 - It feels a little thin but also harsh. It certainly has a bit of an alcohol bite and a tingling sensation into the aftertaste.

Drinkability: 2.5 - It's not very smooth, and it isn't easy to sip away on autopilot. You will notice when you are drinking this one.

Bottom Line: 2.0 - While the aroma and initial taste would lead you to believe that this one is just going to get better, the harshness of the mouthfeel and the constant reminder of what you are drinking are tough to get past. Add to that a less than appealing appearance, and this one just isn't worth the time/effort.

Otto's Octoberfest - Opening

2011-02-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

You know, October is only eight months away...

Looking back at my notes from previous batches is this genre, one might conclude that I've never met a fall seasonal that I didn't like. While Fall is my favorite season, and I do enjoy a nice brown ale outside when the air is crisp, not all brews are created equal.

Appearance: 4.0 - It's brown (lighter than the photo turned out) and has fairly good clarity with a fairly good head as well. The head retention isn't the best, but it will do.

Aroma: 2.0 - It's weak, but strikes a good balance between beer and hops. I think I detect a sour note which is slightly smokey on the end.

Taste: 3.5 - It starts a little sweet, then turns a little sour. This accents, then lingers into the aftertaste which is ever so slightly bitter.

Mouthfeel: 2.5 - It starts a little bubbly, pops noticeably on the accent, then mellows as it goes. On the whole, it sits fairly light.

Drinkability: 3.5 - It's definitely smooth enough to enjoy a couple before you realize it.

Bottom Line: 3.0 - It's not bad, but it's nothing special. On the whole, it comes off a little weak, but it's definitely not the worst thing to ever come out of a keg. Still, I probably won't be brewing this one again...unless it's specifically requested by Kendra. She thought a little more of it than I did.

Howlin' Red Ale - Bottling

2011-01-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

It's never too late for a Fall ale...

SRM: 12
IBU: 23
Original Gravity: 1.049
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV: 5.12%

Recipe ...

1 Can Octoberfest Vienna Lager HME
1 Can Golden Wheat UME
1 Packet Cascade Pellet Hops
1/2 Cup Honey

Kegging (2010-11-28) ...
As has become my custom, I added extra water to the pot (roughly double), brought it to a boil and then boiled the hops for about 20 minutes. Other than that, kegging went according to the Mr. Beer instructions.

Bottling (2010-12-22, 23 days) ...
On this batch, I think I've learned a new trick: take your sample after filling the first bottle. The sample in the photo above (focus problems aside) was used in my hydrometer reading (obviously), but the tasting sample was taken after pouring that bit into a bottle and filling it up. The clarity seems to be MUCH improved, leading me to believe that a bit of trub rests near the tap and comes out shortly after first opening the tap.

In any case, the clarity is quite good for this stage, especially given the wheat UME. The color is golden to golden brown. The aroma smells hoppy and of Vienna lager with a hint of grain on the tail end (which pretty much sums up the recipe). The taste starts weak, but accelerates quickly, then plateaus. It turns a little sour in the middle where the Vienna malts hit, followed by the bitter, hoppy flavor into a bitter/sour aftertaste. The aftertaste doesn't linger too long, which is a good thing, in my opinion. I find that too much of an aftertaste can get in the way of the next sip.

This batch went mostly into swing top pints, with the remainder being split between some Rude Elf's Reserve (Bethlehem Brew Works) bottles and a couple Southern Tier Harvest Ale bottles. I loaded this batch into the fridge after 16 days. I plan on letting it go 3 weeks before opening. I can hardly wait.

Mr Beer Fall Seasonal - Bottling

2011-01-10T20:19:00.000-05:00

It's never too late for a Fall ale...

SRM: 38
IBU: 50
Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.014
ABV: 4.99%

Recipe ...

1 Can Double American Brown HME
1 Packet Safale S-04 Dry Ale Yeast

Kegging (2010-11-28) ...
I followed the Mr. Beer instructions on this one, which call for bringing the water to a boil, removing heat, and then adding the beer mix. The beer mix is to be heated in water in a sauce pan on the side. Apparently, I didn't heat it enough as it was a pretty slow pour, and I wound up scraping a bit of it out of the can. Along those lines, I had a slight issue getting all of the beer mix out of the pot and into the keg, and ended up scraping a bit from the pot.

I'm also betting that the fact that there was a bit more HME than I normally use contributed to this. I didn't really think anything of all of this at the time as all the beer mix did make it into the keg, I had followed the instructions, and I was pretty tired as it was after midnight at the time. Fermentation kicked into gear the next day, and I didn't really give it another thought until bottling

Bottling (2010-12-21, 22 days)
The issues that I had kegging apparently weren't as innocuous as I thought. As you can tell from the final ABV, not all of the fermentables were consumed by the yeast. The target for this batch was 6.5%, a full 1.5% higher than I actually got. At first, I was afraid that I needed to give it a little more time to ferment, but with Christmas travel, that really wasn't an option, so I opted to finish bottling and hope for the best (e.g., no exploding bottles).

As I got to the bottom of the keg, I think that I discovered the real issue. Along the bottom of the keg was what I imagine wheat bread looks like after it has rested on the bottom of a water bucket for 3 weeks: soggy, mushy, brown goop. Doubtless this is the beer mix that didn't really dissolve in the wort and had to be scraped into the keg. As the yeast I used was an ale yeast, it fermented on top of the wort, leaving all of this fermentable beer mix to sit on the bottom.

As for the beer itself, the aroma is strong and brown ale-ish as is the color. It appears thick and it doesn't seem to have completely settled out yet as far as clarity goes. The taste is strong on the whole and even more noticeably unbalanced than what I usually get at this point. It starts weak compared to where it goes next. It turns a little sour in the middle, followed by the bitters which are actually quite pronounced for a brown ale. The aftertaste is a mixture of bitter, sour and sweet with a slight roasty note.

I'm guessing that this batch will end up a bit weaker than the recipe is intended to be, but from the sample I tasted, it's not THAT bad. I won't be surprised if I have to pour this one out, but it's certainly worth letting it carb/condition and giving it a try first. This batch went into mostly Southern Tier bottles, plus six Flying Fish Grand Cru Winter Reserve bottles. I let it carb for about 16 days before loading it into the fridge. I plan on giving it 3 weeks of cold conditioning before opening.

Eye Opener Sumatra Stout - Opening

2010-12-06T22:55:00.000-05:00

Yep, I still got it.

It's almost embarrassing how late this review is. I had to look back quite a ways to see when I actually kegged this one: December 10th, 2009. Yep, I started it almost a year ago to the day now. My daughter isn't even a year old. I know that beer will keep for a while, but honestly, I had written off all hope of actually getting a useful review for this batch. It was brewed before we made our multi day move and only two bottles remained (Schafly Oatmeal Stout bottles from a trip to St. Louis with some friends, actually) until I opened this one on a whim. So, how did it turn out?

Appearance: 4.5 - It's really dark, opaque and has a nice fluffy head. Carbonation levels we're pretty good as I recall, but this particular bottle was particularly good.

Aroma: 2.5 - There really isn't much of an aroma if any. You really have to dig your nose into it to catch a whiff. What you can smell, is really only distinguishable as something other than air. Alright, maybe it's just barely malty, but you get the point.

Taste: 4.0 - It's actually a bit complex. The taste starts somewhat mild, then quickly just slightly sour, followed by the espresso taste which turns into a dark chocolate like aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: 4.0 - It's creamy and soft at first, but turns to a little bit of bitter bite on the end. In the aftertaste, there is a slight but lingering alcohol bite sensation.

Drinkability: 4.0 - For a stout, this one goes down pretty easy. The flavors and sensations have meld quite pleasingly, and it makes for a great session beer.

Bottom Line: 4.0 - Given ample conditioning time, this is a pretty good brew. I'm really happy that it hung around this long and that I didn't just pour it out one night. I do wish that I had some more impressions from over the past year just to get an idea of what a sufficient conditioning time for this brew is, but I do know this: just under a year is enough.

Otto's Octoberfest - Bottling

2010-11-13T15:07:00.000-05:00

On the eve of Halloween, my lone Fall 2010 brew finds its way into bottles...

Original Gravity: 1.044
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alc/Vol: 4.3%
Color: 10 SRM
Bitterness: 18 IBU

At 27 days on the day counter, it was time to go ahead and bottle this one. I opted to bring out my swing top, glass pints for this batch, which unfortunately proved to be a bit problematic. Apparently, the fast flow tap is a little too fast for the smaller opening on these bottles, and it took some patience and steady hands (neither of which do I really possess) to keep the beer from bubbling back out of the bottle. Other than this minor annoyance, bottling went off without a hitch.

I will say that this was probably the grossest looking empty keg I've had yet. The white residue that I've half come to expected with hop added batches was out in full force, but there was also a sticky, dark residue lining the walls keg around the top of the beer. I'm guessing that this was something left over from the HME, but in any case, it was interesting to have both a white and black residue in the same keg.

Unpleasant looking residues aside, the beer itself is shaping up nicely. The ABV is a little lower than I expected, but that's far from what's most important in a brew. It's creamy brown in appearance and still a little cloudy. The aroma is a nice mix of beery and hoppy. The taste starts a little watery, but then turns a little sour followed by a beery, hoppy taste that seems to be the source of the aforementioned aroma. It ends in a bitter aftertaste that is actually reminiscent of an IPA.

As you can see, there is a lot going on in the taste of this brew. An extra week or two of cold conditioning should help settle this down a bit though. Mr. Beer recommends 2-4 weeks, but given how long my last batch took, I'm leaning closer to the 4 week mark. Of course, I may, actually, make that will sneak a bottle or two early, just because I can.

Blueberry Bock - Opening

2010-11-13T14:53:00.000-05:00

Not enough fridge space to make it worth the time...

OK, that strap line might have been a little harsh, but given how long this one sat in my mini fridge before tasting pleasing enough to enjoy, I do have to wonder if it was worth it. Perhaps I messed up the sanitization (though I can't imagine how), but this one started off a little rough. I don't know if it was an off taste or if it was a bad batch of blueberries, but there was a definite sour/bitter/unpleasant turn in the aftertaste that quite literally would leave a bad taste in your mouth.

It was rough enough that Kendra (who specially requested this recipe to be her first after entering motherhood) wouldn't touch the stuff until about 2 months into conditioning. I'd try a bottle or two every week or two, but it just never seemed to condition out that taste. The beer taste would mellow out a little each time, but the unpleasant aftertaste remained. Suffice to say, Mr. Beer recommends 2-4 weeks of cold conditioning, which is just too short, in my opinion.

Appearance: 3.5 - It's dark brown in color and a might bit cloudy (doubtless from the wheat UME) with a few floaters in most of the bottles. That being said, it does look appealing, or at best not unappealing. Carbonation levels have been a little lacking, and as such, so has head retention.

Aroma: 3.5 - It has a nice mix of beer, fruit and hops. It's not overly strong in this regard, but it's definitely a beer that you are smelling.

Taste: 2.0 - It's a little weak, as you might expect with this much conditioning time. There was an odd taste to most of the bottles which seems to have all but conditioned out at this point. The taste starts watery, then turns mildly bitter, followed by the beer taste. A slightly fruity/sweet taste comes next and it transitions into a slightly sour aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: 2.5 - It has what I would describe as a gritty mouthfeel. The bubbles hit pretty hard too going into the aftertaste.

Drinkability: 2.5 - It's tough to say exactly on this one, other than to say it's just average. It's not super drinkable, but then again, it's not super undrinkable either... once the lengthy conditioning time passes, of course.

Bottom Line: 2.0 - While the end product may be passable, it far from justifies the extended conditioning time that is apparently required.

I'd drink it with... something bold enough to dominate my palate so that I wouldn't notice that bad aftertaste... until about 2 months of conditioning time, then pretty much anything would do.

Otto's Octoberfest - Kegging

2010-10-03T14:11:00.000-04:00

There's nothing like Fall weather to get you brewing again...

Original Gravity: 1.044
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 5.0%
Color: 12 SRM
Bitterness: 23 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can Octoberfest Vienna Lager HME
1 Can Golden Wheat UME
1 Packet Sterling Pellet Hops
1/2 Cup Honey (add)

Kegging (2010/10/03)...
As you might expect, I've had this recipe just hanging around for a while. I've been saying pretty much every weekend since the first of September that I intend to load it up, but I just haven't gotten to it. Now it's October, meaning this one won't be ready to consume until sometime in November at the earliest. I'm not too torn up though as a good Oktoberfest brew may be hard to come by at that point. I'm just planning ahead.

Since it worked out well with my Bengal Tiger IPA, I decided to boil the hops for about 20 minutes before adding the malt extracts. Also, the recipe called for only half the packet of Sterling hops. Being the good hop head that I am, I opted for the whole packet. I also took the liberty of adding half a cup or so of honey that I had hanging around the pantry to try and coax a little more ABV out of the recipe. I'm planning on this one taking about 3 weeks in the keg, two warm, two to 4 cold, which puts the first bottle opening somewhere around Thanksgiving. As I love a special occasion to pop open a brew, and since we'll even have company over the holiday, it's actually good timing.

You also might notice that there isn't a second keg to blog about at this time. It seems Mr.Beer has raised the prices on pretty much all of their ingredients and therefore recipes. Part of the draw to making your own beer is the fact that it's typically cheaper than buying a comparable beer off the shelf. With the price increase, the margin has gotten a bit smaller, and it's a little harder to justify the purchase (plus the time investment) for me. I'm still planning on brewing (they do run sales each month, of course), but there isn't a local home brew shop anywhere near where live, unfortunately. Does anyone have any suggestions for another online malt extract supplier?

Bengal Tiger IPA - Opening

2010-07-22T23:41:00.000-04:00

When I originally loaded this keg up, I was intending it to be the manly companion to Kendra's specially requested "chick beer," Blueberry Bock, which was in the other keg. Well, things didn't exactly work out that way. I'll save the commentary on the Blueberry Bock for it's proper review, but suffice to say, this supposed manly beer wooed my wife away from her fruity brew tendencies (and I love her all the more for it!) once and for all. Seriously, she's totally sworn the stuff off!

I too really, REALLY like how this one turned out, and as a result, it's not lasting very long in this house. The Cowboy Golden Lager is a fine beer mix, one that I plan on trying again sometime soon. The extra dose of Cascade hops was a nice touch too. The hop flavor comes through really well, so the 15 minute boil before adding the beer mix must have been a good idea.

Appearance: 4.7 - It's brown with a slight golden tint, and the clarity is top notch. Carbonation levels have varied greatly from bottle to bottle, as has head retention, unfortunately. As you can see, this particular bottle did pretty well. In short, it appears quite like a beer I would want to drink.

Aroma: 3.5 - As you might expect, hops are dominant. It's not what I would call a "stinky" beer though, in that the overall aroma is more mild. That being said, you definitely know that it's beer that you're smelling, and you don't have to go digging to find it.

Taste: 4.8 - While the aroma might be weaker than I expected, the taste is bold and bitter. The hops hit first (of course), followed by an alcohol pop and then a really, REALLY great, bold, bitter taste which transitions into a milder, spicy aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: 4.0 - The aforementioned alcohol pop is brief, but there is a tingling sensation throughout, even through the aftertaste. I'd describe it as a clean or crisp mouthfeel.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It's a little but of a slow drinker due to the alcohol bite, but it doesn't feel like you would need to clear your palate or anything after the first pint.

Bottom Line: 4.6 - Simply put, it's great. It's complex enough to satisfy a beer snob, crisp and clean enough to refresh on a hot summer day, and bold/bitter enough to satisfy your "I only drink manly beer" principles. This is definitely a beer that I would consider brewing again next spring or even again before the summer gets too far away.

I'd drink it with... Pretty much anything.

Bengal Tiger IPA - Bottling

2010-06-12T16:06:00.002-04:00

Surprise! A promising summer brew...

Original Gravity: 1.066
Final Gravity: 1.010
Alc/Vol: 7.35%
Color: 10 SRM
Bitterness: 18 IBU

Yes, I'm a little behind posting about this keg. It's actually been running alongside Kendra's Blueberry Bock the whole time. I've just been too lazy to do two, TWO blog entries at each step. This is my first batch using Cowboy Golden Lager

Recipe ...

1 Can Cowboy Golden Lager HME
1 Can Mellow Amber UME
1 Pouch Booster
2 Packets Cascade Pellet Hops

Kegging (2010/04/25)...
I decided to try something a little different with the hops this time. Rather than bringing 4 cups of water to a boil first, I started with 8 cups and boiled the hops in them for about 15 minutes. My thinking was that this would actually get more hoppy flavor out of the pellet hops as opposed to basically dry hopping per the Mr.Beer instructions. We'll see how it turns out, but if the aroma is any indication, it should be hopped quite nicely.

Bottling (2010/05/26)
Like the Blueberry Bock, I let this one go to 31 days, and since I bottled this one second, it officially has the longest fermentation period of any of my brews. I'm not too worried about it though, especially given the higher alcohol content. This batch went into 6 Bell's Two-Hearted Ale bottles, 6 Tröegs IPA bottles, 6 Tröegs Dream Weaver Wheat Ale bottles, and 2 Ithica Belgian Wheat Ale bottles.

As for the sample I took, it's yellow-brown in color and still little cloudy. The aroma is actually a little fruity, turning to beery on the end. The taste is equally complex: it starts watery, then turns tangy, then sour, then the bitters come in the aftertaste. It's not the smoothest tasting beer, but it definitely not the roughest either. After sampling it, I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Hopefully the extra couple weeks of fermentation didn't kill any chance of having good carbonation.

Blueberry Bock - Bottling

2010-06-05T11:35:00.000-04:00

A bit early for a fallish brew, but still off to a good start...

Original Gravity: 1.046
Final Gravity: 1.010
Alc/Vol: 4.8%

I sampled this one at 24 days, and it was still a little cloudy. Given that half the recipe is Golden Wheat UME, it's not surprising, but still, the clarity wasn't quite where I wanted it. It's been a little warmer around here lately, so I figured that fermentation had completed. Nevertheless, I let it go another week to 31 days before bottling. The extra week seems to have made a difference as the clarity has improved quite a bit, though it is still a little cloudy.

As you can see, the color is brown, and it is still a little cloudy. The aroma is slightly fruity, but it also has a slight roasty note to it. The taste is creamy with a sour/fruity finish. It feels smooth enough without any real alcohol bite. It's not the strongest brew, but the style doesn't claim to be. All-in-all, it's shaping up to be a pretty solid brew, certainly one that Kendra will enjoy.

This batch went in 12 Tröegs bottles (Nut-brown Ale and Amber Ale bottles), and 8 Ithica bottles (6 Nut-Brown, 2 Belgian Amber Ale). Given the lengthy fermentation period (and that we're out of everything at this moment), I'll probably let them go the full 14 days of carbonation, but perhaps we'll open one after only 3-7 days of cold conditioning.

Blueberry Bock

2010-05-11T18:12:00.000-04:00

In celebration of our wonderful new daughter (read: at the request of my no longer pregnant wife), a blueberry brew...

Original Gravity: 1.046
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 4.8%
Color: 9 SRM
Bitterness: 22 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can Englishman's Nut Brown Ale
1 Can Golden Wheat UME
1 Can Blueberries in Light Syrup

Kegging (2010/04/25)...
There isn't much to say about the actual kegging process other than I followed the Mr.Beer brewing instructions faithfully on this one. With that out of the way, I'm about two weeks into this keg and everything seems to be coming along wonderfully.

In relocating for work, our new refrigerator lacks one feature that our old one had: an ice maker. As such, the customary ice bath to chill the wort before pouring it into the keg isn't really an option for me anymore. The extra time out in the open required to simply air cool the wort has me a little worried about contamination. Also, I was worried that my anxiousness might get the better of me and lead me to pour the wort into the keg before enough time to cool had passed. If the wort is too hot, it can kill the yeast on contact.

Within 24 hours, a nice layer of foam had formed atop the wort signaling that I hadn't cooked the yeast, thankfully. Our new place seems to stay a little warmer than the old one, particularly with the weather getting warmer, so I'm thinking that 3 weeks should be plenty of time for fermentation. If the clarity looks acceptable, I plan to bottle this one the beginning of next week. After a couple weeks of carbonating, a week or two in the beer fridge should do the trick.

Winter Dark Lager - Opening

2010-04-08T21:53:00.002-04:00

I know, I'm always making excuses for how a review is late, but this time, I have a couple of really good reasons why. First off, we moved from the south east end of the country to the north east at the end of February, and I started a new job shortly thereafter. Secondly, we welcomed our first child into the world towards the end of March (she's beautiful!). We sold the house back down south somewhere in there too. With all of these life changing events converging upon us at one time, even hobbies as noble as home brewing have had to be put on hold. Hopefully that will all change soon because we're finally settling in... and I'm pretty much out of home brew.

For some reason, I'm always amazed to find that the last few bottles in a batch seem to have kept well. These particular bottles even endured a multi day move. The bottle that I'm reviewing in 1 of 2 remaining, and has been in a bottle for over 100 days.

Appearance: 4.2 - It's brown with most of the bottles exhibiting a nice head. However, the head seems to be a little short-lived, unfortunately. The clarity is also quite appealing.

Smell: 2.8 - Hops are still the dominant aroma, but they are not overbearing. The aroma is actually reminiscent of milder pale ale. I would describe it as noticeable but pleasing. Still, I would have liked a little more beer in the aroma.

Taste: 3.0 - Time has of course mellowed the taste considerably from the first few bottles that I opened. It does turn slightly water towards the end, but it's still a good beer. Hops are the predominant flavor from start to finish. The Canadian Draft taste hits first (clean and crisp), followed by the unhopped Mellow Amber taste and into the Saaz hops finish/aftertaste (more bitter and gritty).

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - There is an alcohol bite on the front which coincides with the Canadian Draft taste. It slowly tapers off to a slight tingle through the aftertaste.

Drinkability: 3.0 - It's a little but of a slow drinker due to the alcohol bite, but it doesn't feel like you would need to clear your palate after the first pint.

Bottom Line: 3.0 - It's a good, enjoyable, sit around and tell jokes kind of brew, but it won't be getting many "wow, this is good" type remarks. It's definitely worth brewing once. I'm not really sure why Winter is the season assigned to it though. It seems like more of a Spring brew to me.

I'd drink it with... Grilled food, pizza, and the NCAA tournament.

Ol' St. Nick's Midnight Ale - Opening

2010-01-26T19:49:00.005-05:00

It's never too late to enjoy a Christmas brew...

Christmas may have been a month ago, but this batch of Christmas brew has hung around well enough. It's been in the bottle just over two months to the day (a month and a half of that cold), but it hasn't turned watery yet.

Appearance: 4.1 - It's dark brown with a nice, fluffy head on most of the bottles. There are a few cherry floaters in some of the bottles as you might expect.

Smell: 2.1 - The spices have eased back considerably, leaving this one smelling a little weak. However, what you do smell if you really try is still the spices.

Taste: 3.0 - It starts tangy, then turns sour and end bittersweet. Once again, the cherries seem to pair with the Nut-brown Ale taste well. It's faint, but I think that I can detect the almond extract and/or cloves in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: 2.9 - There is a little alcohol bite on the front and a roasty, smokey sensation on the end.

Drinkability: 3.0 - It's not the smoothest brew that I've made, but it isn't offensive in this regard either.

Bottom Line: 3.1 - It's alright, certainly better than some, but I think I may be partial to the Christmas ale that I brewed last year.

Winter Dark Lager - Bottling

2010-01-03T15:56:00.005-05:00

Not so much dark at this point, but "Lager" seems to fit nicely...

Original Gravity: 1.042
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alc/Vol: 4.0%

At 22 days by the day counter, this one was ready to bottle. It seems like it's been something of a quick turn around as the extra conditioning required by my last two batches has them mostly still in the fridge. Never the less, when it's time, it's time.

Bottling Notes (2010/01/03)...
It's not exactly living up to the "dark" in the name, but the lager part seems to be about right. I'm not really complaining though, as this time of year, I seem to collect about as many dark winter seasonals as Christmas ornaments. It's a light, creamy brown to golden brown in appearance. The mysterious white residue is back, further confirming that boiling the wort with the added hops doesn't cause it. There isn't quite as much of it this time around, and as it wasn't a problem before, I'm not too worried.

The first and most prominent aroma is the hops of course, but there is a sour/bitter beer note in there as well. The taste is a little watery, tangy and kind of citrusy, but not very bitter. There isn't an alcohol bite and on the whole, it's shaping up to be pretty smooth. It is a little weak at the moment which has me a little concerned, but we'll see how it goes.

This batch went in (surprise) mostly recycled winter seasonal bottles (Sam Adams and Winter Hook, to be precise) with green stickers on the tops. Mr.Beer recommends letting this one condition for 2-4 weeks, and I'll probably be shooting for closer to 4 (after two weeks of warm carbonating time). I should have space cleared in the fridge for at least part of this batch by then.

Pater Pumpernickle - Opening

2009-12-15T21:02:00.005-05:00

A wonderful finish to the fall brewing season...

This review is long overdue in coming actually. However, I'll start by mentioning that this batch has held up remarkably well given just how long it's been in the bottle. I'm down to my last four bottles (not counting the one I'm enjoying right now), and it's been in bottles since mid September.

Appearance: 4.1 - It has darkened up considerably into more of a porter complete with a nice head on most of the glasses I've poured.

Smell: 2.8 - The aroma has backed off quite a bit since bottling. The malty aroma is still there, but the sour note is gone. It doesn't smell bad, just weak.

Taste: 4.2 - The taste starts watery, then turns slightly sour/tangy, and finishes with a mildly bitter aftertaste. It is well-balanced and seems to flow better from stage to stage than before.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - There is an ever so slight alcohol bite on the front as well as a slight gritty/smokey feel on the end. Neither of these is offensive in the least.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It's pretty smooth and easy to drink especially given the style. That being said, it's a great session beer, particularly if you don't care for stout...for some reason.

Bottom Line: 4.1 - If it's not my favorite, it's certainly one of my favorites so far and a definite candidate to brew again next year. All of my beer loving friends and even a few non-beer lovers have really liked it as well.

I'd drink it with... Vanilla ice cream, steak and potatoes, and a movie (it's a great sipping beer)

I do have to wonder what it might have been like if I had added the optional spices. Perhaps I'll give them a try next fall or even winter. In any case, I noticed that Mr. Beer ran out of Vienna Lager towards the end of October/first of November, so if I do try for a Winter batch, I'll have to be sure to lock it down early.

Eye Opener Sumatra Stout

2009-12-10T20:56:00.008-05:00

The two drinks that I love most... in one!

Original Gravity: 1.060
Final Gravity: 1.022
Alc/Vol: 5.1%
Color: 40+ SRM
Bitterness: 29 IBU

Recipe ...

2 Cans Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout
1 Pouch Booster
8 Cooled Espresso Shots

Kegging (2009/12/10)...
There really isn't much to report here other than I loaded it into the keg on December the 10th. I stuck with the Mr.Beer instructions with one exception: I added the espresso to the keg rather than to the individual bottles. From what I've read, this should make the espresso and the beer blend a little better, and make for more of a complex flavor, or at least make it more of a fair fight between the beer and the coffee.

I am kind of giggly over the particular espresso that I used for this recipe. There's a coffee company in my home town of Athens, GA that goes by the name Jittery Joe's, and they have an espresso blend known as "Depth Charge." My folks (knowing how much I love coffee) gave me a can of it last time we all got together. As it turns out, the beans are used by two breweries in their own milk stouts. The first is Terrapin (which also happens to be a local Athens company and brewers of some fine, hoppy beers), and the second is Left Hand (not familiar with it, but it's in Longmont, CO).

Bottling (2010/01/03)...
As you would expect, it's dark and thick with a slight brown tint when you hold it up to the light. The dominant aroma is the espresso, but the roasty, stout smell is detectable as well. The taste isn't as bold as I expected, but it is complex. It starts with a roasted malty stout taste, followed by a sour taste and finishes with the coffee taste lingering into a short aftertaste. There is no alcohol bite to it, and it seems like it's heading towards being a nice smooth brew with a complex makeup. However, I am predicting that it will be a pretty slow drinker.

This batch got green stickers and went into a couple of recycled stout 6 packs (Schlafly Oatmeal Stout and Guiness), a recycled 6 pack of Budweiser American Ale (not too crazy about the previous occupant, but the bottles are pretty good) and 3 other random domestic bottles. I plan on letting this one condition 2 weeks warm, 2-3 weeks cold before opening.

Winter Dark Lager - Kegging

2009-12-10T20:04:00.003-05:00

Just back in stock at Mr.Beer, Canadian Draft is in the keg...

Original Gravity: 1.042
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 4.6%
Color: 9 SRM
Bitterness: 21 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can High Country Canadian Draft
1 Can Mellow Amber UME
1/2 Ounce Saaz Hops

Kegging (2009/12/10)...
My very first keg was the High Country Canadian Draft that came with my original kit. I've brewed up a couple of others since then, and I can't say that it has let me down yet. For some reason, I get a craving for this stuff just as the weather really starts to turn cold. I was crushed to find that Mr.Beer had run out of it a few weeks ago, but thankfully, the shortage is over.

I followed the Mr.Beer instructions faithfully with this keg save for the quantity of hops. The recipe actually calls for 2/3 of the pack, but rather than struggle to come up with a use for 1/6 of an ounce of hops, I just tossed it all in the keg. I did not boil the wort as I've read that the Mr.Beer malt extracts have already been boiled, and that boiling them again will hurt the final product. My guess is that my pallet wouldn't be able to tell a difference anyway, but what's done is done.

We've decided to keep the house a little warmer, so hopefully I won't have the same time issues I had with the last two kegs. I hope to let this one go for about 3 weeks before bottling.

Ol' St. Nick's Midnight Ale - Bottling

2009-11-23T19:51:00.007-05:00

A promising Christmas brew...

Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.011
Alc/Vol: 6.17%

Bottling Notes (2009/11/23) ...
Since I was already giving the Pumpkin Porter some extra time, I decided it wouldn't hurt to let this one wait as well. Also like the Pumpkin Porter, this doesn't seem to have hurt anything. It's milky brown in appearance at the moment with a few floaters but nothing like the Pumpkin Porter.

The aroma is dominated by the spices, but it's not overbearing as you still have to get your nose in the glass to really get a good whiff. The taste starts a little tangy and spicy before turning to a sour accent which turns bitter into a mild aftertaste. It feels like it will end up being pretty smooth, but of course it's unbalanced at the moment.

Judging from what it's like at the moment, it should turn out nicely. As the ABV turned out a little lower than Mr.Beer estimates, I have the same concerns about this batch that I did about the Pumpkin Porter. Thankfully, no exploding bottles 12 days into carbonation. This batch has red stickers on the tops. I'll probably let it go two weeks warm, two weeks cold, which should put me opening just before Christmas day.

Pumpkin Porter - Bottling

2009-11-23T17:53:00.006-05:00

Try number two at pumpkin in a bottle...

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alc/Vol: 4.73%

Bottling Notes (2009/11/23) ...
As I just sampled this recently and most of what I wrote then still applies, I won't bother breaking this out into individual metrics. It seems that the extra week was the right call. The appearance has only changed marginally, but the aroma and taste of the spices have definitely lessened. The grittiness seems to have been reduced as well. It's more like a pumpkin brew that I can get behind, though I probably won't be able to try the final product until nearly Christmas.

The only real concern that I have is how low the ABV came out. As I'm pretty careful to adjust for temperature, I don't think that my readings were off. It's possible that I just kept the keg too cold too long, and the yeast just didn't finish. In any case, I'm guessing that I may be looking at some over carbonated (if the yeast was still alive, but dormant until now) or under carbonated (if the yeast has actually already expired) bottles.

Thankfully, the bottles have been in the gray tote for 12 days without exploding. In a couple more, I'll load as much as will fit into the mini-fridge. This batch has blue stickers on the tops.

Black and Booberry Bock - Opening

2009-11-14T18:24:00.005-05:00

A good fall brew... again...

Appearance: 3.7 - It has darkened a bit since bottling, but that's a good thing in my opinion. I'd call it brown to dark brown with a nice head on most of the bottles and a few lingering floaters. It definitely looks appealing to me.

Smell: 2.0 - It was weak before, and seems to be even weaker now as you might expect. The fruity aroma is all but gone, but that's actually letting the slightest bit of a beer aroma through.

Taste: 2.5 - It's pretty much where it was at bottling, only much more mild and balanced. It starts a little watery, then the accent comes sour and it tails off into a fruity aftertaste. There is a little bitter in the sour taste, but not much. It's almost like wine, honestly.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - There is still a coarse feel to it, but not as much as before. It seems to have settled out nicely though. I'm not getting the same unfiltered feel that I got out of the sample

Drinkability: 3.3 - It has balanced out very nicely, and it is fact, quite drinkable.

Bottom Line: 3.0 - It will be a hit with my friends who don't normally drink beer. That being said, I do normally drink beer, so while it's not a bad brew, I'd prefer something with a little more bitters.

I'd drink it with... Mexican food, cheese, football (hey, it's fall)

Pumpkin Porter - Sampling

2009-11-14T11:31:00.005-05:00

Cold weather slows the process. Sometime 19 days just isn't enough...

I thought that I was going to rush this one a little and maybe get a bottle for Thanksgiving, but it's just not to be. I was intending to bottle today, but after sampling, I've decided to be a little more patient and give this one another 7-10 days. As you can see from the photo, it's pretty cloudy, and I'm hoping the extra time will help, though I'm really not sure it will given the pumpkin and spices in this batch. I can't really know for sure until I try it, unfortunately, so let the waiting commence.

As for preliminary observations, it's brown and cloudy. The floaters (I'm assuming the pumpkin) basically coated the side of the shot glass. It tastes slightly sweet/sour and the spices (particularly the cinnamon) dominate the aroma, but thankfully, they are not overpowering. It has a gritty mouthfeel, but I wouldn't say it's undrinkable or anything.

I really feel like taking my time with this brew will pay off. My house has stayed pretty cold thus far (hey, I'm cheap), and when I initially opened the cupboard, the aquarium thermometer read a chilly 62 degrees. I've talked Kendra into letting me keep the doors open, so hopefully I can keep it a little warmer this next week (it's already north of 66).

Pumpkin Porter - Kegging

2009-10-25T18:08:00.006-04:00

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

2009-10-25T16:35:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-19T22:26:00.005-04:00

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

2009-10-04T22:26:00.004-04:00

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

2009-09-14T22:23:00.003-04:00

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

2009-09-14T21:06:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-24T22:57:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-24T22:36:00.004-04:00

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

2009-08-19T19:16:00.008-04:00

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

2009-07-27T22:49:00.005-04:00

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

2009-07-27T18:37:00.004-04:00

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

2009-06-30T18:01:00.005-04:00

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.

Full Moon Marzen - Opening

2009-06-24T18:20:00.009-04:00

Only one bottle left, and I've been sitting on it for a month just to review it before it's gone...

Appearance: 4.0 - It's darkened a little (though not quite as dark as the picture turned out), enough that I would call it golden brown. It's something between a pale ale and a brown ale. The clarity is much improved, and it has a nice, fluffy head.

Smell: 3.0 - It's still pretty light on aroma. You get a slight hop aroma and a slight beer aroma, but that's about it.

Taste: 4.0 - While it has mellowed a bit with time, it's still complex enough to notice. It still starts a little bitter, then turns a little sour, after which turning bitter again, but stronger. The aftertaste has taken a slight roaty, malty turn, and is quite satisfying.

Mouthfeel: 3.5 - The tingling sensation is still up front, but it has mellowed a bit. It's kind of bubbly throughout the middle, but mellows out in the aftertaste.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It's starts with a bang, turns sharp in the middle and then trails off into the aftertaste. It's a normal drinker, neither slow or fast.

Bottom Line: 4.0 - The complexity in the taste is what sells me on this one. I really like the Argentine hops, and will probably try some other recipes that call for them in the future.

Lessons Learned - I like Argentine Hops.

It's one of my favorites so far, and a definite candidate for rebrewing next spring, or possibly even before the year is out. It seems to have kept well, considering how long I've been sitting on it. I've got Blue Monk and Brew Ha Ha Bock up to review next, and couple of new recipes to start this weekend. Let's hope that my case of blogging delinquency doesn't return between now and then...

Hop Head Red - Opening

2009-05-29T19:05:00.006-04:00

Yeah, it's been open for a while. It's been open for a long while, actually. Hey, it'll keep...

Appearance: 4.0 - It's a caramel brown color with a hint of red, and the clarity is much improved. It's probably a little dark for a pale ale, but still lighter than what you imagine when you think of "ale."

Smell: 3.0 - It's slightly sweet, but also beery. The previous hops aroma seems to have mellowed out a bit, as has the overall aroma. On the whole, it's a little weak smelling, but at least it doesn't smell bad.

Taste: 3.5 - Interestingly, it's got a bold alcohol taste up front, followed by a mellow tangy/sour taste, but finishing strongly again with the bitters and a spicy aftertaste. It's somewhat unfortunate, but the red ale taste seems to have been covered up by the other flavors. However, the hopiness keeps it interesting enough.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - The alcohol bite at the beginning is certainly noticeable, and there is a slight numbing in the aftertaste.

Drinkability: 3.0 - It's a good sipping beer, and would probably pair well with food.

Bottom Line: 3.0 - It's alright, but it's not my favorite red ale based brew. Oddly enough, I think that I actually preferred some of the bottles from the beginning of the batch to the more mellow ones at the end. Also, the carbonation levels were low in most of the bottles, which may be a result of the longer fermenting time.

Lessons Learned - More mellow is often preferred, but there is a limit. Likewise, letting a keg ferment too long may come at the cost of carbonation levels later.

I don't think that I will brew this one again, but it was good to try added hops for the first time. It certainly added something new to the taste, and I'll probably look at some other recipes that use added hops in the future.

Brew Ha Ha Bock - Bottling

2009-05-26T20:09:00.005-04:00

It had been sitting on my shelf for about 3 months waiting for summer to come around. Well, summer is all but here, but I'm still going to have to wait another month to try this brew.

Original Gravity: 1.062
Final Gravity: 1.016
Alc/Vol: 5.99%

Recipe ...

1 Can High Country Canadian Draft
1 Can Mellow Amber UME
1 Pouch Booster

Kegging (2009/04/27) ...Like my Blue Monk, 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 (2009/05/26) ...

Appearance - It's a darker golden brown and still cloudy. I expect the clarity to improve quite a bit after carbonation/conditioning.

Smell - The Canadian Draft beer smell is the main aroma. The aroma isn't overwhelming, but certainly gets the point across: it's beer.

Taste - Again, the Canadian Draft is the most notable taste (not a bad thing). It begins slightly sweet and mild, then turns intense and bitter, finishing mild again with a slight sour/tangy note.

Mouthfeel - There is a very small alcohol bite, and it has a sort of coarse feel to it.

Drinkability - It's smooth enough, but not the smoothest brew I've made. There is certainly time for this to change, of course.

Again, it went 30 days in the fermenter. There was a white residue covering the inside of the fermenter with this batch as well, though not as much as with the Blue Monk. I was able to get 19 bottles (12 oz.) capped before the trub came out. The sample that I tried was enjoyable enough, and I am looking forward to it.

The bottles are currently in the red tub. I will let the first part of this batch go 2 to 3 weeks for carbonating, then maybe a week of cold conditioning before opening.

Blue Monk - Bottling

2009-05-25T16:45:00.006-04:00

OK, so I've been a little busy lately and let my procrastination concerning my brewlog turn into outright neglect. Moving on...

This one is an original recipe, meant to satisfy all my (mostly non-beer drinking) friends who keep asking when I'm going to make another fruity beer.

Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alc/Vol: 5.2%

Recipe ...

2 Cans Witty Monk Witbier
2 Cans Blueberries in Light Syrup

Kegging (2009/04/27, I think) ...There really isn't much to say here, other than I did boil the wort for about 15 minutes before putting it in an ice bath. I'm really not sure that this does anything as there weren't any added hops. The only potential hitch is that my food processor left some pretty large chunks of blueberry, so I just had to hope that I wouldn't have some of the same problems I had before with the tap clogging up.

Bottling (2009/05/26, I know) ...

Appearance: - It's much darker than my last batch of Witty Monk, but that's to be expected with all of the blueberries. As you might expect, there a purple/blue tint to it. Also, the clarity was surprisingly good for this stage.

Smell: - It's funny, but it actually smells something like wheat toast with blueberry jelly.

Taste: - It's quite fruity and thankfully, there is no alcohol bite. It's slightly sour at first followed by the sweet, fruity taste of the blueberries and finishing with a milder version of the initial sour note.

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

Drinkability: - It's of course green at the moment, though nowhere near as unbalanced as I half expected. I'm actually thinking this could be an easy drinker, certainly for those who aren't normally beer drinkers.

Yep, it was 30 days in the fermenter. It's longer than I would have liked, of course. Furthermore, the entire inside of the fermenter was covered in this white film. I think that it may have been the hops as a result of the boiling. This would explain why there wasn't really bitterness to speak of. However, the clarity was pretty good, particularly for a witbier, and this may have contributed. In any case, it was all floating on top, and looked absolutely disgusting.

Mysterious white residue aside, I'm still anticipating this batch. The sample that I tried was fine, and the floaters in the beer seemed to be limited. I'm thinking that I will let at least part of this batch go my customary 2 to 3 weeks for carbonating, then a shorter than normal cold conditioning, perhaps a week or so, as it was so long in the keg.

Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0 - Opening

2009-04-17T20:15:00.006-04:00

The 2 month conditioning time was painful long and kept my fridge pretty full, but the results...

Appearance: 4.5 - It's a thick looking and dark brown with a nice fluffy head with more staying power than any of my other brews so far. Basically it looks like a beer that I would REALLY like.

Smell: 3.5 - It's been so long since I bottled this that I can't tell if anything has changed. It's still malty and what I describe as smokey. I'm not picking up on the sweet note anymore. The aroma isn't as powerful as I would have expected, but what is there certainly smells good.

Taste: 3.5 - It's bitter on the front, followed by a the malty, bock taste. The finish is still slightly bitter/sour, but I think the aftertaste has mellowed a bit. It doesn't taste bad, but the bitter taste seems to stand out more than the malty taste, unfortunately.

Mouthfeel: 3.5 - Again, pretty much the same as before: thick, followed by a slight numbing sensation. The bubbles seem to pop around a bit on your tongue too. There is a little bit of bite on the end as well, but not much

Drinkability: 3.5 - The taste and feel has smoothed out, but like all good bocks, it's still a slow drinker.

Bottom Line: 4.0 (3.7 average) - It's a good bock, thick and malty, and the head retention is some of the best in my brews. The higher alcohol content is noticeable, and enjoyable too, especially since this is a good 1 pinter. However, I find myself wishing that it tasted more malty than bitter, rather than vice versa, and given the extra long brewing time, I might opt not to rebrew this one.

Lessons Learned - Good things take time...sometimes too much time.

Packed Fridge...

2009-04-03T07:38:00.003-04:00

This is just a quick update to maintain a proper history. 2 days ago at 21 days on the day counter, I loaded roughly half of both the Hop Head Red [HHR] and the Full Moon Marzen [FMM] into my downstairs mini-fridge. It was roughly half because frankly, I still haven't finished off all of my Shameless Stout or my Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0. It seems that both of these are slow drinkers (not a bad thing), and since Kendra isn't really a fan of these styles anyway, I'm not getting too much help drinking them (not a bad thing!).

While we're on the subject of the Doppelbock, I hope to do a full review this weekend, but suffice to say, I'm quite pleased so far.

Shameless Stout - Opening

2009-03-22T15:03:00.006-04:00

Just in time for St. Patty's day...

Appearance: 4.0 - It's black, like a good stout should be! It also has a nice, fluffy head.

Smell: 3.5 - It's got roasty, malty smell, though not a very strong one. It's not very complicated, but a stout isn't really supposed to be.

Taste: 3.0 - There is a little bite on the front, followed by the bitter/sour stout taste, and then a dark chocolate, slightly sweet taste on the end. However, it progresses quite quickly through each taste, leaving only the dark chocolate taste to linger, and no one taste is that strong. It's actually a little weak for a stout. It's not bad, just underwhelming compared to other stouts that I've had. It's almost like a porter in taste, which isn't a bad thing, if I were trying to brew porter.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - There is a little alcohol bite on the front, and the aforementioned lingering taste. It's not very bold or attention grabbing though.

Drinkability: 3.5 - It's easy enough to drink if you like darker beers, but it's certainly a slow drinker.

Bottom Line: 3.0 (3.4 average) - It's alright. It's a stout, but not at all as strong as I would have preferred. I'm more a fan of Russian Imperial Stout and Oatmeal stout than Irish stouts anyway. This one is more like something between a stout and a porter or bock.

Lessons Learned - Stout comes in other varieties.

I'm actually a little late posting this, and we've been through about half of the batch so far. This stout does pair well with deserts (particularly Kendra's chocolate chip cookies). Even so, I don't think that I will be brewing this particular stout again... certainly not until Fall.

Full Moon Marzen - Bottling

2009-03-10T22:16:00.003-04:00

A second hop added brew + extra fermenting time = a promising new brew...

Original Gravity: 1.065
Final Gravity: 1.013
ABV: 6.79%

Appearance: 3.5 - It's light brown, lighter than the Hop Head Red, and almost golden. It's a good pale ale color. It may have cleared up some, but not by much. Like the HHR, it appears creamy.

Smell: 3.0 - It's still a little light on smell, but what is there smells beery and hoppy. It doesn't smell bad, but it does leave something to be desired.

Taste: 4.0 - It's complex. It starts a little bitter, then turns a little sour. Next, it gets bitter again, but it's different kind of bitter: stronger and more intense. This may be the hops setting in, but I'm not sure. The aftertaste itself has two phases as well: slightly sour (again), and then a milder bitter (again). It's almost like the aftertaste is an echo of the main taste.

Mouthfeel: 4.0 - It's a little watery just at the beginning, and there is a little tingle/pepper in the aftertaste, but on the whole, it's nice.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It not really smooth, but it's not harsh either. It's shaping up to have a great pale ale sharpness. It's a little unbalanced at the moment, but expect adequate conditioning to address that.

Both this one and the HHR are more complex than any of my other brews that I can remember at the moment. Between the two, this one is even more complex. The echo (for lack of better word) in the taste is particular intriguing. I'm confident that conditioning will address the unbalanced taste, but I do hope that the complexity remains and isn't completely conditioned out. It should be great in the warmer weather to come, and the warm snap that we're currently experiencing has me extra excited to see how it turns out.

This batch went into 1 Liter plastic bottles with brand new caps. I had the caps lying around, and as I've had a few bottles under carbonate in the past couple of batches, I thought that it might be worth a shot. I didn't color the tops yet. I expect this batch to go 4-2/3-3/4, depending on how the carbonation goes, and how much room I have in the fridge.

Hop Head Red - Bottling

2009-03-10T20:13:00.003-04:00

Another 10 days in the fermenter, and it looks like patience may have paid off once again...

Original Gravity: 1.063
Final Gravity: 1.018
ABV: 5.85%

Appearance: 3.5 - It's a caramel brown color, still a little cloudy, but creamy. It's lighter than any of my other red ales; the first that I would call a pale ale.

Smell: 3.5 - It's slightly sweet, but also beery. I don't know enough of hops, but I think that I can detect a little spiciness in the aroma, which may be the hops.

Taste: 4.5 - It develops slowly, but accelerates the entire way. It's slightly sweet on the front, followed by a tangy/slightly sour taste and finishing with the bitters and slight spicy aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: 4.0 - There is a little tingle on the end, continuing into the aftertaste, but it pairs well with the spice in the aftertaste, so I'm not worried.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It starts smooth, but then gets a little more bumpy. It's certainly different than what I'm used to brewing.

It's one of the most complex tasting brews that I've made yet, and I'm really curious to see how it turns out. The hops certainly add a lot to the brew, and the fact that it's different than what I've been brewing is a nice change. At 30 days, these last two batches are the longest fermenting times I've had, and hopefully my yeast has held up in the fermenting extra time.

As far as bottling went, I actually used some old 12 ounce pry offs that I had from previous store bought six packs. The Mr.Beer hand capper worked like a charm and didn't seem to leave any leaks. I'll probably let these carb for a little extra time since they are in glass, just to make sure that they are good and carbonated... that and I still don't have room in the fridge. I expect this batch to go 4-2/3-4, for an opening in late April.

Full Moon Marzen - Kegging

2009-03-01T13:58:00.004-05:00

I thought that it was bottling day for this spring batch as well, but I suppose a little more patience may be required of me...

Original Gravity: 1.065
Alc/Vol: Approximately 6.4%
Color: 10 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can High Country Canadian Draft
1 Can Golden Wheat UME
1 Pouch Booster
1/3 Ounce Argentine Cascade Pellet Hops
2 Cups Honey

Kegging (2009/02/08) ...
Just as with my Hop Head Red, it's been twenty days on the day counter, and I'm finally getting around to blogging about this batch. Also like the HHR, I'm going to have to let this one go another week or so. Unfortunately, I had already assembled my bottles and sanitized them before I sampled. Lesson learned: sample before you prep your bottles.

I boiled the wort for about 10 minutes once all of the ingredients were in the pot. Also, the original recipe called for orange rind added as spice. I didn't exactly realize that I had no oranges until after I had started brewing. I'll have to keep some on hand after opening, just to add to the glass after pouring.

The sample is still a little cloudy and almost identical to the Hop Head Red, but the aroma is much less pronounced. The sample I took actually had very little aroma at all. The taste is mild at first, then becomes sour, then sweet and spicy, and finally finishes bitter. It's really quite odd: other than the mild start, the distinct tastes are equally potent, with no single taste standing out above the others.

It's something like some of the pale ales that I've had, but a little sweeter, no doubt due to the 2 cups of honey. My initial impression is that this could be a very interesting brew. I like how it's shaping up, but with some many different tastes and the apparent like of aroma, I'm really curious to see how it turns out.

Hop Head Red - Kegging

2009-03-01T13:51:00.001-05:00

It's my first try at a brew with added hops, and my first Spring brew of the season...

Original Gravity: 1.063
Alc/Vol: Approximately 6.5%
Color: 12 SRM
Bitterness: 6 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can Bewitched Red Ale
1 Can Pale Export UME
1 Pouch Booster
1 Pouch Booster
1/3 Ounce Willamette Pellet Hops
1/2 Cup Honey

Kegging (2009/02/08) ...
As you can see, I've gotten a little behind on my blogging. I thought that I was going to be bottling today. It's been twenty days by the day counter, and the recipe calls for a minimum of 3 weeks fermenting. Knowing this and after sampling, I've decided to give it another week to week and a half.

I just a have a couple of notes on kegging. I got to use my fancy hop scale that I received as a brew club gift a couple months ago. I boiled the wort for about 10 minutes once all of the ingredients were in the pot. I've read that this really helps to bring the hop flavor out. I used a taller pot than my usual one, which really helped with the boiling process.

One thing that I almost missed, but caught at the last second was to leave the hop sack in the fermenter the entire time. Hopefully, the final product won't taste overhopped. Don't get me wrong; I love a good hoppy brew, but as I've already discovered, you can have too much of an additive relative to your malt extract.

As you can see, the sample is a little cloudy still, so I'll look for that to clear up some in the next week or two. It appears to be a light, caramel brown color, lighter than most of my red ales thus far. The aroma is quite pleasing as well, beery with fresh hoppiness.

The taste starts mild, but accelerates quickly into nice pale ale taste. The typical slight sourness of the red ale seems to be mostly covered over by the pale export and the hops, but it's still detectable in the middle. The aftertaste is spicy, slightly bitter, and quite pleasing. It's also the strongest and most memorable part of the taste. On the whole, it's a great start and should be quite refreshing as the weather turns warmer around here in April/May.

Christmas Ale 2002 - Revisit

2009-02-28T17:36:00.005-05:00

A revisit may seem like an "oops" of sorts. I don't think that this is necessarily true. Longer and longer conditioning time in the fridge changes the taste of a beer, making a second look almost necessary. If nothing else, it gives a good way to evaluate the staying power of a particular brew. I try to open up that first bottle right when the beer has reached it's peak. I'm learning that, while the beer is still good after 3 or 4 weeks past it's prime, its taste does continue to change. Such has been the case with the Christmas Ale 2002.

Basically, the beer taste has mellowed out even farther, while the spices are as strong as ever. It's not bad, but it's actually tasting a little unbalanced at this point. It may just be that I need to try underspicing on my next spice brew, if I expect for it to last more than a couple of weeks.

My rating on that first bottle was a 4.0, and while I still think that this is a good brew, the later bottles have been more like a 3.0 to 3.5, truthfully. This batch would have been great to have at a Christmas party when it was at it's prime. Conditioning is vital, but it does reach a point where you need to just finish the batch off.

Painted Dawn - Opening

2009-02-27T22:23:00.007-05:00

My folks are in town for a half marathon, and after 3 weeks of cold conditioning, it was time to open up a bottle and tilt a glass with my dad...

Appearance: 4.0 - It's brown in color, darker than before, I think, with a slightly purple/red tint. The clarity has improved over what it was at bottling time, but it's still got a cloudy wheat haze to it. The head had pretty good staying power and was somewhat impressive, if I do say so myself.

Smell: 4.0 - It has a very interesting aroma indeed, with no one dominating the rest. It's still got the red ale aroma, but a decidedly yeasty aroma as well. I'm guessing this is due to the Golden Wheat UME. There is a slight fruity note as well.

Taste: 4.0 - Unlike what I expected, it's actually not as mild as before, but it is balanced quite well. The distinct tastes of the red ale, the wheat UME, and the boysenberries are all all there, but they blend well, and it progresses through them quickly. The tartness of the boysenberries does seem to pair well with the red ale as well. The slightly sour aftertaste is still there, though not as pronounced as with my other red ales.

Mouthfeel: 3.5 - There's a very slight tingle on the end, but other than that, it's pretty easy going and altogether unoffensive.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It's smooth and easy to drink. It's not the beeriest brew, but it's certainly enjoyable, and will almost certainly be a beer to share with my non-beer drinking friends.

Bottom Line: 4.0 (3.9 average) - It's great, and definitely a candidate for a rebrew this fall/winter. It'll be great on the end of winter, coming into the beginning of spring.

Lessons Learned - Boysenberries pair very well with red ale.

I certainly enjoyed it, and my dad did as well. We polished off a liter, and I sent another home with him. Of the few fruit brews that I've tried, I think that I favor the boysenberries most so far. I'd like to try blackberries at some point too, but we'll see.

Kendra and I opened another liter today, only to find that it had not carbonated very well at all. I'm not totally sure what could have caused such a variance in carbonation levels between bottles. Perhaps it was temperature (we had a few cold snaps, and hey, I'm cheap with running the heat). Whatever the reason, at least one bottle is flat. Hopefully it's the outlier and the rest will be like the one we opened last night.

Christmas Ale 2002 - Opening

2009-02-07T00:28:00.008-05:00

The Christmas Ale is a dandy. I only wish I had this stuff ready back in December...

Appearance: 4.5 - It's dark brown, with a slightly red tint that's only really visible if you hold it up to the light. The clarity is some of the best I've made, especially since it's got fruit in it. Speaking of fruit, I do see a few floaters but nothing like what I've experienced before. The head isn't annoyingly substantial or disappointingly small either, with acceptable retention.

Smell: 4.0 - Again, the spices and cherries hit your nose first, followed by the beer aroma. It's pleasing, and I'll definitely hear "Oo!" a few times over this one.

Taste: 4.0 - It's complicated, but pleasing. It's got a very slight alcohol bite on the front, followed by a sweet, fruity and spicy tastes. Next comes the brown ale taste finishing into the typical nut-brown ale sour/bitter aftertaste, though it isn't nearly as pronounced as the last batch of nut-brown ale I made. It's definitely more balanced and more enjoyable than before.

Mouthfeel: 3.5 - It sits pretty nicely in your mouth. Nothing is really offensive or over pronounced. It's a little coarser than some, but I'd still call it smooth.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It's definitely enjoyable, and definitely worth having another. It's a candidate for a rebrew for sure...just maybe a little closer to Christmas next time!

Bottom Line: 4.0 (4.0 average) - It's great, and will more than likely be brewed again some day.

Lessons Learned - Trust the recipe, particularly when it comes to spices. With proper conditioning time, you'll get exactly the brew the original brewer designed, and not something that tastes like "watered down allspice."

The cherries and spices seem to have really filled in the holes that the nut-brown ale was leaving. If I brew any more nut-brown ales, I'm going to shoot for something like this. This is exactly the brew I needed in the wake of the Pumpkin [SPICE] Lager fiasco. I'm not going to go so far as to say it will make a beer drinker out of a non-beer drinker, but I'd bet a few of them could stand to finish a glass of this.

Now, to try and make this stuff last for a month while the DD7 finishes conditioning...

Update - Condtioning

2009-02-06T20:24:00.003-05:00

I just finished loading both the Irish Stout and the Painted Dawn in the fridge (20 days on the day counter). There was a bottle or two in each batch that seemed a little under carbonated, but if it isn't going to carbonate after 20 days, I don't think it will.

I didn't end up getting another refrigerator yet, and I have to say, 6 gallons of beer (1 of which is drinkable) in the fridge is mildly hilarious. I'm hoping to start a couple more kegs this weekend, as I'm well overdue and it can't be good for the pellet hops to wait too long.

Shameless Stout - Bottling

2009-01-17T14:06:00.003-05:00

My first Irish stout, and if my hydrometer readings are to be trusted, a hefty one at that...

Original Gravity: 1.072
Final Gravity: 1.016
ABV: 7.32%

Appearance: 3.5 - It's dark, muddy brown in color, like dark chocolate. It appears thick and creamy too. It's not as dark as other stouts I've had, but appealing, none the less.

Smell: 3.5 - A roasty, malty, stouty aroma is most pronounced. It has a sort of caramel or dark chocolate hint to it. It doesn't smell that strong, but then again, it's a small sample.

Taste: 4.0 - It's boldest and bitterest up front, but neither trait is that pronounced. Next comes a malty caramel taste, and it finishes with roasty aftertaste. It's certainly not as bold as I recall the Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0 being.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - There isn't any real burn or tingle, but it is a little unbalanced at the moment. There are few definite flavors that are fighting for control over your taste buds.

Drinkability: 3.0 - It's smoother than a lot of stouts I've had, but it won't be a gulper in the least.

The ABV listed for this brew on the Mr.Beer site is 6.0%, but I'm calculating 7.32%. I'm not really sure what to think, other than it's obviously possible that I misread the hydrometer, or that the site is just wrong. I took two readings on the hydrometer and both came up the same. As all samples are from the same room holding at the same room temp, I don't think temperature is to blame either, though I'll be sure to pick up a thermometer before I make my next batch. Suffice to say, it's somewhere between 6.0% and 7.32% and whatever it actually is, it's plenty high.

As far as taste, etc. goes, I'm actually pleased with this one so far, though I found myself wishing that it was a little stronger. I'm far from disappointed, but less than blown away. I'm thinking that I will like this batch more than the Painted Dawn. Half of this batch went into plastic 1 liters with green stickers, the other half into glass swing top pints.

Painted Dawn - Bottling

2009-01-17T10:59:00.004-05:00

It has been 23 days by the day counter, and with nothing to do on a Saturday, conditions were perfect to bottle up some brew...

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.010
ABV: 4.95%

Appearance: 3.0 - It's brown in color, with a slightly purple tint. It's also quite cloudy, and has some floaters in it. It's a fruit/wheat beer though, so I'm not really sure why I expected it to be more clear after 23 days.

Smell: 3.5 - A roasty red ale aroma is the first thing that hits your nose of course, but I think that I can detect the fruity boysenberry smell as well.

Taste: 3.0 - It's mild, really. The red ale taste is in there, a wheaty/yeasty taste and a little fruit sweetness, but there's nothing bold about it. There's a slightly sour note as well, but I've come to expect that with red ale. It will be interesting to see if conditioning make this one even milder.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - It sits easy in your mouth, without any burn or tingle at all. There isn't anything really remarkable to report here.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It's pretty smooth already, and will probably be a quick drinker. It will go well with dinner food too, which is good, because I do eat.

So far, it's not so bad, but at the same time, it does leave something to be desired. My best guess at this point is that it will be a safe, middle of the road beer that my non-beer drinking friends might actually enjoy. This batch went into plastic 1 liters with yellow stickers on the tops. The bottle with Mr.Beer top is the trub bottle.

Also of note, we picked up a Nikon Coolpix P80 last night on sale at Best Buy. If you noticed that picture looks a lot better than the ones I used to take with my iPhone, you're right.

Quick Update

2009-01-11T12:27:00.002-05:00

This is just a quick note to maintain a proper history. On Friday, I loaded both of these batches into the fridge. The day counter read 16 days, as I recall. It's going to be REALLY tough to let these go full term, particularly since I ended up pouring out the Pumpkin Lager, and I've only got two bottles of Scottish Wee Heavy left.

It's becoming quite apparent that I may need to Craiglist an old full sized fridge from somebody in the near future...

Shameless Stout

2008-12-31T14:08:00.002-05:00

I've actually had the ingredients for this recipe for a few months now, but other recipes have taken precedence just due to the time of year. Now, I've finally gotten around to loading up my first Irish Stout...

Original Gravity: 1.072
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 6.0%
Color: 20 SRM
Bitterness: 24 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can St. Patrick's Irish Stout
1 Can Creamy Brown UME
1 Pouch Booster

Kegging (2008/12/24) ...
Like the Painted Dawn, this is a pretty simple recipe, and I stuck to the Mr.Beer instructions. Thankfully, there are no wilsons to report. Fermentation seems to be humming along, and I expect to bottle this one at 4 weeks. I'll start taking weekly samples next week at two weeks, including hydrometer readings as well.

This will probably be a 4-2-3/4 keg, but I have a feeling 4 weeks cold conditioning may not be enough to completely balance the brew. I'm a big fan of stouts, so I'm really looking forward to this one...which means I'll probably have to open a bottle at 3 weeks.

Painted Dawn

2008-12-31T13:35:00.006-05:00

It's my first brew with my beloved Boysenberries, and with my flashy new hydrometer for those ever so important gravity readings...

Original Gravity: 1.048
Alc/Vol: Approximately 5.6%
Color: 18 SRM
Bitterness: 12 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can Bewitched Red Ale
1 Can Golden Wheat UME
1 Can Boysenberries in Light Syrup

Kegging (2008/12/24) ...
This is a pretty simple recipe, and I stuck to the Mr.Beer instructions. Thankfully, there are no wilsons to report. The Boysenberries pureed up nicely, so I do not anticipate problems with the tap at bottling time.

About a week into fermentation, all seems to be going well. We left town less than 24 hours after kegging this one, so I'm not sure exactly when started foaming, but there is a more than healthy amount of it in the keg now. I'll probably let it go another week before sampling, and post an update then.

This will probably be a 4-2-2/4 keg. Normally, I would let this run about 3 weeks before bottling, but I may let it go 4 now that I have the hydrometer, just to make sure that fermentation is complete at 3 weeks.

Pumpkin Lager - Revisit

2008-12-25T13:29:00.005-05:00

Forget everything that I said about this brew before: it's awful and a sure 1.0 or less in my book. The first bottle I opened was the last bottle that I bottled. I'm guessing that's why it only tasted a little watery. I've opened a couple of liters the past two nights and both times it was the same story: very watered down allspice with a hint of beer. I'll probably end up pouring out this whole batch over the next few days.

Lessons Learned

Pay attention to how much water you are putting in the keg. Over-watering kills a beer.
You CAN over-spice a beer. Remember you're making beer, not an apple pie.

On a side note, this is supposed to be a brew log so that I can keep track of what I've tried, when I tried it, and what the results were. However, in case you are reading this for some reason, I just can't resist the urge to wish you a Merry Christmas. There will be plenty more brewing on my part in the new year, so I hope you come back, and maybe start brewing some of your own, if you aren't already.

Scottish Wee Heavy - Opening

2008-12-23T17:47:00.005-05:00

Last night, we opened the first bottle of Scottish Wee Heavy. When the applause died down, this is how it shook out...

Appearance: 4.5 -
The brown/auburn color looks very appealing and the clarity is some of the best I've seen in the batches that I've made. The head leaves something to be desired, spouting up quickly, but then diminishing just as fast. Hopefully this won't be a problem with the subsequent bottles.

Smell: 3.5 -
A great red ale aroma is pretty much all there is to this one, which is not a bad thing in the least. It's just not a very complicated or powerful aroma. The butterscotch is still undetectable by my nose.

Taste: 4.0 - It starts with a shock on the front, which is quickly followed by the red ale/mellow amber beer taste. There is a slight sour note next, and it finishes into a tingling aftertaste. Again, the butterscotch is not really detectable by me.

Mouthfeel: 3.5 - Like before, it's gritty, smokey, and typical red ale feeling. It's nice and full, dominating your mouth.

Drinkability: 4.0 - It's not so smooth, but it is an attention grabber, and quite enjoyable. It's not a gulper, but I'll certainly have to keep track of how many of these I'm finishing off.

Bottom Line: 4.0 (3.9 average) -
I like it as much if not more than any beer I've made so far. It drinks slow enough that you don't gulp it, but it doesn't back up in throat or anything like that. It's definitely a candidate for a rebrew next Fall/Winter.

Christmas Ale 2002 - Bottling

2008-12-22T23:04:00.006-05:00

Like the DD7, I'm a week later bottling this keg than I had originally planned. At 29 days though, this brew is shaping up to be just fine.

Appearance - As before, it's brown and lighter than the DD7, but not by much. Also like the DD7, the clarity is very much improved over the last sample. I still see some fruit floaters, but they are smaller, and certainly fewer than the last cherry brew I attempted.

Smell - Like before, the spices and cherries hit your nose first, followed by the beer aroma. It actually smells quite pleasing, and would probably entice people who don't normally drink beer to give it a try.

Taste - The progression on this one is lengthy and drawn out. Like before, it's slightly sweet on the front, followed by a sour/bitter taste that draws out into an aftertaste. Interestingly, the sour part isn't quite as harsh as I remember and the extra time may have helped with this. The spices hit on the end, and continue through the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Oddly enough, I'm not really detecting a watery feel to this one like I did before, and I'm not really sure why either. The "lemonade" feel is gone as well. All in all, it feels just like a normal beer to me.

Drinkability - It's pretty smooth for being this early in the process. It's also not nearly as harsh as it was before.

At first, I was expecting this to be just a regular, safe brew, but now I'm having second thoughts. It's really come along nicely in two weeks. We'll see how it tastes in a month/month and a half or so, but I must say that after tonight, it may be hard to wait this one out. This batch went into the red top liters, which are currently in the gray tub.

Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0 - Bottling

2008-12-22T22:14:00.005-05:00

Due to a miscalculation on the number of bottles in my possession, I'm a week late getting this batch bottled. It's 29 days by the day counter, but the extra week hasn't seemed to spoil anything.

Appearance - The clarity is MUCH improved over the sample two weeks ago. It doesn't appear creamy anymore, but rather, more like flat Coke.

Smell - The aroma hasn't changed much since the last sample. It's still malty and what I describe as smokey. One thing I notice this time that may have gone undetected before is a sweet note, but it may just be the maltiness.

Taste - It's still bitter on the front, followed by a great full, malty, bock taste. The finish is more bitter/sour than before, I think, but it's not overpowering. The aftertaste seems to still be there as well. All together, it seems to have a nice progression, and I'm quite excited to see how this one turns out.

Mouthfeel - Pretty much the same as before: thick, followed by a slight numbing sensation, paired with the aforementioned aftertaste. The only thing I would add is that it has a slight tingling sensation in the middle, probably due to the higher ABV.

Drinkability - Again, it pains me to have to wait so long, but there are a lot of flavors in this brew, and I think it's going to take a while to bring them all into balance.

I just received two more sets of plastic 1 liters from Mr.Beer today, bringing my total number of bottles up to 32 plastic 1 liters (4 sets) and 12 glass, swing top pints (1 set). In order to keep the 1 liters straight, I'm using colored stickers on the tops. This batch is in the red tub, and has the blue tops.

It may be flat and green now, but I expect this one to be smooth and malty in my glass after ample conditioning time. Again, I'm really excited about this one, and hopefully I'll have good things to report... in March (ugh).

Pumpkin Lager - Opening

2008-12-21T23:03:00.006-05:00

--- REVISITED ---

At long last, I cracked open the swing top of Pumpkin [SPICE] Lager. The extra lagering time made a difference.

Appearance: 4.0 -
It's a nice, clean looking brown, slightly golden, with a good head on top. I must say, I'm very happy with the clarity as well. In this regard, it has definitely improved over the sample I took at bottling time.

Smell: 3.0 -
As expected, the spices (particularly the allspice, but the cinnamon as well) are noticeable. Thankfully, the beer aroma comes through as well on the end.

Taste: 2.0 -
It's spicy, a little watery, and unfortunately, not too beery. The spices are not as overpowering as I had anticipated (thankfully), leading me to think that the main problem is too much water. That being said, it could definitely do with less spice. The pumpkin taste is faint, and obviously swamped by the other flavors. The finish has a slightly bitter note to it as well, typical of the WCPA. Also, I'm getting a little alcohol bite.

Mouthfeel: 2.5 - It's bubbly, to tell the truth. Almost like Coke or champagne, you can feel the little guys popping.

Drinkability: 2.5 - It's not so much that it's smooth; it's just not very edgy. The watery taste coupled with the bubbliness make this one a little difficult to get a handle on completely. It's easy enough to drink that you wouldn't pour it out.

Bottom Line: 2.5 (2.8 average) -
Given the number of problems I had in getting this brew to this point, I'm actually OK with a middle of the road, "meh, I'd drink it," beer. Unfortunately, the taste is the worst part, but it's not the worst beer I've ever had (or made, for that matter). It's just altogether underwhelming, and to tell you the truth, tastes like somebody who didn't know how to make beer tried. Unfortunately, that pretty much sums up what happened. In any case, you have to learn the lessons, and brew again.

The extra conditioning time has helped tame this one down quite a bit. Even though conditioning covers over a multitude of wrongs, it only goes so far, and it does nothing for over watering. Since there are quite a few bottles, and I'm in no rush to finish them, I might post another update in a month or so.

Christmas Ale 2002 - Sampling

2008-12-10T18:56:00.005-05:00

Like the DD7, I sampled the CA2K2 tonight. Again, this is at 17 days on the day counter.

Appearance - It's brown, lighter than the DD7, but not by much. It too has the appearance of hot chocolate. It's too cloudy to bottle at this point.

Smell - The spices hit your nose first. I think that I can smell the cherries as well. Yes, there's beer in there as well, but it seems to take a back seat to the other aromas at this point.

Taste - It's slightly sweet on the front, followed by a sour/bitter taste that draws out into an aftertaste. I seem to recall my last nut-brown ale having this same soury/bitter taste as well. The spices come in the second half and continue through the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - A little watery, perhaps. It kind of leaves you with the same feeling in your mouth that you get after you have lemonade, if that makes any sense. I'm seeing fruit residue on the side of the shot glass, but the brew does not have a chunky feel in your mouth.

Drinkability - It's pretty smooth at first, but the aftertaste may make this a one-pint brew for me.

My initial impression is that this may end up being a 3, middle of the road type brew. It's alright, but it doesn't seem to really impress. It doesn't taste as unbalanced as the DD7 though, so I might be able to get away with a typical 2-4 week conditioning time. Again, I'll sample it again next week, and decide if it's time to bottle then.

Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0 - Sampling

2008-12-10T18:19:00.004-05:00

The day counter reads 17 days tonight, so I thought that it might be worth sneaking a small sample, just to see how things are progressing.

Appearance - I would describe it as muddy, dark brown in color. It almost looks like hot chocolate. It appears creamy as well. It's definitely still too cloudy to bottle at this point.

Smell - The predominate smell I detect is malty in nature, smokey, perhaps as well. Both of these aromas appeal to me, personally.

Taste - It's slightly bitter on the front, followed by a full, malty, bock taste, and finishing with a slightly bitter/sour note. The bock taste stands out the most to me. It has a nice, lingering aftertaste as well.

Mouthfeel - Thick, followed by a slight numbing sensation, paired with the aforementioned aftertaste.

Drinkability - The two months of conditioning prescribed in the recipe are probably going to be needed to get this batch to full maturity.

This is going to be a good brew, thought at the moment, it's pretty unbalanced, of course. It feels like there are lots of sensations and tastes competing for your attention. Judging by how cloudy it still is, I may put off bottling for 2 more weeks, making this a 4 week fermentation, rather than my customary 3. I'll sample again next week and decide then.

Christmas 2002 Ale

2008-12-10T07:29:00.007-05:00

Yeah, it's a little late for Christmas this year (and I'm two weeks late posting about it), but spiced ale is good all year long, I say...

Alc/Vol: Approximately 6.5%
Color: 14 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can Englishman's Nut-Brown Ale

1 Can Mellow Amber UME

1 Can Dark Sweet Cherries in Heavy Syrup

1 Cup Honey

1/8 Teaspoon Fresh Ground Cloves

1/2 Teaspoon Pure Almond Extract

The recipe calls for a two week conditioning time, but with the spices, I'm wondering if a extra week or two might make a noticeable difference. I may open up just one bottle at two weeks and wait another week before opening the next.

Kegging (2008/11/23) ...
I stuck to the Mr.Beer instructions, dissolving the honey and bringing the water to boil before removing the pot from heat. Next, I stirred in the beer mix, UME, and spices. After an ice bath, the wort went into keg wilsonless, thankfully. I also made triply sure to puree the fruit well. As I recall, cherries were problematic last time getting stuck in the tap at bottling time. Hopefully I did a better job of blending them this time around.

Fermentation seems to be going well too. It took just over 24 hours for foam to form. All in all, this will probably be a 3-2-2/4 keg. I plan sampling some of both batches tonight and posting about it, if I can find the time. The day counter has us at 16 days as I type this.

As all of my bottles are currently conditioning the last two batches at the moment, I'm going to need to secure some more bottling supplies this week. I missed adding any to my brew club shipment this time around. Big River has started selling 1 gallon growlers for $5 ($12 more to fill one up, but the way), so I'm thinking that I may try to pick 4 of these up in the next few days. I'll probably need a couple filler tubes as well.

Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0

2008-11-30T09:38:00.004-05:00

This one may officially be my highest ABV yet.

Alc/Vol: Approximately 7.0%
Color: 40 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can Linebacker Bock

1 Can Creamy Brown

1 Pouch Booster

1 Cup Honey

As you can see, the recipe is pretty heavy on the fermentables side, hence the "7.0" in the name. It calls for a 2 month conditioning time, so it'll be a while before I get to open this batch. I've got high hopes for this batch, if I can hold out that long.

Kegging (2008/11/23) ...
I stuck to the Mr.Beer instructions this time, dissolving the Booster and stirring in the honey before bringing the water to boil. Next, I poured in the beer mix and UME. After an ice bath, the wort went into keg. There weren't any wilsons to report, thankfully.

After a single day of being in the keg, it was obvious that fermentation was coming along very well. A thick layer of foam had formed, and even about a week later, there is still foam at the top. All in all, this will probably be a 3-2-8 keg. I will be taking samples at 7 day intervals and paying special attention to clarity. If hasn't cleared up by day 21, I may let it go an extra week.

General Update

2008-11-28T23:56:00.003-05:00

I checked both bottled batches on Wednesday night (12 days on the day counter). The Pumpkin Lager bottles were rock solid and since they will require a little extra conditioning time anyway, I went ahead and loaded them into the fridge. The Scottish Wee Heavy was almost ready too, but it felt like it could go a couple more days. I just finished loading them into the fridge (16 days carbonating).

Unrelated, but I finally got around to starting two more kegs. I'll do full write-ups for each soon, but for now I'm fermenting Defibrillator Doppelbock 7.0 and Christmas Ale 2002. As I'm aspiring to brew more regularly and often, I've started scheduling out my kegs and bottles on a Google calendar. It looks my kegs are already booked for the next few months, thankfully. It also looks like some more bottling supplies may be in my future...

Scottish Wee Heavy - Bottling

2008-11-25T22:52:00.005-05:00

Just like the Pumpkin Lager, I sampled and bottled this keg at 21 days, which happens to be November 13th, and this is mostly coming from notes that I jotted down at the time.

Appearance - Brown/Auburn in color, I liked the appearance of this one more than the pumpkin lager, being a big fan of brown ales. It definitely looked cleaner, and of course darker.

Smell - The most notable aroma I recognize as that of the Red Ale itself. I happen to like the smell of the Red Ale, thankfully. The butterscotch schnapps didn't seem to have any effect on the aroma, somewhat surprisingly.

Taste - It seems to have a good, full beer taste. Like the aroma, the Red Ale is what came through the most here. If I was able to detect any butterscotch notes, they were very slight.

Mouthfeel - Gritty, smokey, and typical red ale feeling. Again, encouraging.

Drinkability - This brew has potential. Given a month or so of cold conditioning and I think this one will be quite nice by our fireplace.

There were no wilsons to report from the bottling. I seem to have misplaced one of the plastic liter bottles, so I just used one swing top and had to dump the last half bottle out. This batch got the unlabeled bottles and is currently in the red tub.

Carbonation seems to be coming along, though a tad slower than the Pumpkin Lager. I just checked again, and it seems to have caught up, so I'll probably load a few bottles into the fridge at 14 days as well. These should be ready to drink by Christmas for sure. I predict this brew will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 when all is said and done.

Pumpkin Lager - Bottling

2008-11-25T22:44:00.004-05:00

To reiterate, I sampled and bottled this keg at 21 days, which happens to be November 13th. As that happens to be almost two weeks ago, this is mostly coming from notes that I jotted down at the time.

Appearance - As usual, this sample was much clearer than my previous samplings, but still a little cloudy with some noticeable particles (pumpkin?) floating in the sample. The color was light/golden brown. It looked like it might be a little weak, but the over-watering probably has something to do with it.

Smell - The spices (particularly the allspice) came through quite noticeably. I think that I was able to detect a hint of pumpkin as well. This was all in addition to the usual beer aroma as well.

Taste - As I expected, the taste was perhaps a little watery and certainly unbalanced at this point. The bitters come on the front end, followed by the spices. The spices came through strong as well, and I believe that I was able to detect a pumpkin taste too.

Mouthfeel - It's a little early to be grading on this metric, but I will say that the beer feels a little on the light and watery side.

Drinkability - I think, given extra conditioning time, this brew may come into balance and be much more drinkable than what it tasted like at bottling. The sample I'd rate at a 2 right now.

Thankfully, there were no wilsons in bottling to report. I was able to get a couple of extra bottles out of the keg due to the extra volume, but I'm not really considering that a plus. This batch got the Mr.Beer sticker bottles and is currently in the gray tub.

Thus far, carbonation seems to be going well, and I think that I'll be able to start cold conditioning this one at 14 days. If I had to guess at this point, I'd say this one is going to come out at a 3 overall. At the roundup, I'll give each metric a score of it's own, but for now, let's just leave it at that.

New Method

2008-11-14T08:39:00.004-05:00

At 21 days of fermenting (November 13th), I went ahead bottled both kegs. I took samples and jotted down some notes at the time, so I'm not doing this totally from memory. In the interest of maintaining proper segmentation, I'll make an entry for each keg. I've decided to try and be little more scientific with my evaluations as well, using five metrics: Appearance, Smell, Taste, Mouthfeel, Drinkability (yes, I ripped these off from Beeradvocate, http://beeradvocate.com/articles/637).

I'm also devising a 5 point grading scale to rate the beer. It may change, but for now, here's what I've got:

1. Pour that junk out!
2. I think I can finish it.
3. Meh. I'd drink it.
4. I'll have another.
5. Let me start another keg of this.

Obviously, not all of these apply until conditioning is complete, but I think that they can still be used to some degree during the early stages. If nothing else, they'll be an indicator of what is to come. At each week during fermentation and periodically after opening, I'll run through these metrics. Hopefully, I can remember to post, or at least jot down some notes for posting later.

Pumpkin Lager

2008-10-25T11:39:00.004-04:00

After "researching" 3 different pumpkin brews, I decided to give one of my own a try...

Alc/Vol: Approximately 5.1%
Color: 19 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can West Coast Pale Ale

1 Can Mellow Amber UME

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Can Cooked Pumpkin Puree (around 16 oz.)

2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tablespoon Allspice

I must admit, I modified the recipe a bit. Some might say that I have a tendency to "over-spice" things. The original recipe called for two teaspoons of cinnamon, and a half teaspoon of nutmeg. I didn't have any nutmeg, but I remembered seeing a recipe that called for allspice, and it smelled good, so I used it instead. Hopefully, I won't regret the change, or the additional spices.

Kegging (2008/10/23) ...
First off, I'm definitely a pumpkin brew fan, and I'm hoping that this brew will work as a holiday spice brew. I followed the Mr.Beer instructions pretty closely this time. I brought the water to a boil, stirred in the brown sugar and spices, and then turned off the stove. Next, I stirred in the HME and UME to finish off the wort. The wort did smell particularly spicey, definitely sweeter smelling than it normally is. It was also a lighter color, and almost looked like chocolate milk. After an ice bath, it went into the keg.

Next, the can of Libby's Pumpkin Puree went into keg, followed up with the additional water needed bring the total volume to 8.5 quarts. Wilson: I was holding the keg at an angle, and didn't realize that I was overfilling it. My best guess is that I'm somewhere between 9 and 9.5 quarts of total volume. I'm somewhat nervous that the final product will taste a little watered down, particularly considering that the WCPA is light already. Who knows though; it may counter the over-spiciness well.

Just like the Scottish Wee Heavy, 2 days into fermentation, there is quite a bit of foam at the top of the keg. I'm planning on giving this keg the same schedule (3-2-4), putting opening at around Christmas day. I'll probably sample it in a couple of weeks and post a brief update then.

Scottish Wee Heavy

2008-10-25T09:13:00.004-04:00

Thursday night, at long last, I started two new brews. The first is known as Scottish Wee Heavy...

Alc/Vol: Approximately 5.8%
Color: 14 SRM
Bitterness: 6 IBU

Recipe ...

1 Can Bewitched Red Ale

1 Can Mellow Amber UME

1 Pouch Booster™

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons Butterscotch Schnapps

Kegging (2008/10/23) ...
This time around, I decided to follow the Mr.Beer instructions precisely as it pertains to heat. I dissolved the Booster in the pot (ugh) brought it to a boil, and then turned off the stove. Next, I stirred in the brown sugar. After that, the HME and UME. After a much briefer ice bath than it normally would have required, it was into the keg with the wort.

It's at this point that I need to offer a disclaimer: I'm a sucker for spices and little add ons like that. If a recipe calls for teaspoons, I might make one or two of them tablespoons, or loose count and add a couple extra teaspoons. I doubt that this will translate into any noticeable difference, but I thought, "Why the heck not put in an extra tablespoon of Butterscotch Schnapps?" I did, and we'll see, I suppose.

We're part way through day 2 this morning, and already there is a substantial amount of fermentation going on. The weather turns a little cooler here in Chattanooga this time of year, and my house keeps somewhere between 64-68 degrees. I was a little worried that it may be too cold for the yeast, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. I figure that it should be warm enough long enough during the 3 weeks of fermenting time.

Given the noticeable difference extra conditioning time had in my last batch, I'm planning on letting this batch condition a couple weeks longer. I'm hoping to go 3-2-4, if I can stand it. This puts us at right about Christmas day before opening, which should make opening that much more special.

Tawney Honey Rose - Tasting

2008-10-13T02:02:00.007-04:00

It's day 38 by the day counter, and though I've already opened a couple of bottles of Tawney Honey Rose, I'm finally getting around to posting about it...

To begin with, yes, it's after 2:00 AM on Monday morning, and yes, I have to work later today. Two cups of coffee after dinner was not the most strategic move that I could have devised. There is, however, a silver lining in this altogether inconvenient moment. Since I wasn't sleeping, I was thinking, and I think that I may have come up with a better name than Tawney Honey Rose: Insomniac's Dream. As I'm currently attempting to stave off the effects of the caffeine with it, I'll let you know later if it lives up to its name.

As with the BB&B, the ID has a considerable amount of floaters in it. They're even bigger in this batch too. They're more of a nuisance than anything else really, so I'm thinking that perhaps a better blender may be a worthwhile purchase. The color is a dark brown, with a slightly red tint, visible only if you hold it directly in the light. The beer aroma comes through more than the fruit, and the taste seems to follow suit.

As for the taste specifically, it's so-so. It starts with a little bite, though not a pronounced alcohol taste, oddly enough. Next comes a flavor that I describe as roasted or smokey, similar to the Nut-Brown Ale taste, as I recall. It finishes with a slightly sour or tart taste. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if I'm tasting off flavors from the wilson that I pulled in the bottling, or if it's just the cherries. It doesn't taste as full as some of the other batches I've made either, which is consistent with the last batch of Vienna Lager I made.

The brew is definitely at it's prime, but even still, I'm putting this recipe in the "Meh, I'd drink it" column. The sour taste on the end coupled with the lack-luster middle has me a little down on Vienna Lager based recipes. 0 for 2 is not a good record, so unless one really catches my eye, this will probably be my last Vienna Lager for a while.

Black and Booberry Bock - Opened

2008-10-08T22:19:00.006-04:00

OK, so I've been a little lazy. I've carbed, conditioned and tried both batches now, but not posted anything about it yet. Here's how the past 4 weeks have gone.

First off, I loaded the second set at 18 days, and the rest today at 33 days. All of the bottles that I've opened so far have carbed well (obviously), but once again, time has affected the taste for the better. I opened the first set that I loaded at about 18 days (10 days in the fridge). Once again, it was beer, but there was a definite alcohol taste and a pronounced sharpness. There really wasn't as much of a fruit taste either, just alcohol and beer.

The tonight, we opened another bottle and I was very pleased with the results. The aroma is slightly sweet and fruity, but mostly beer. The alcohol taste and bite are all but gone, leaving just a good red ale taste with a muted fruity finish. Mr.Beer recommends conditioning for 2-4 weeks for this recipe. I've let it go 5, including the warm conditioning. I don't think it really took all 5, but 2-3 was probably good enough.

The brew has quite a bit of fruit in it. My blender didn't do that great a job of pulverizing the fruit, so floaters were quite plentiful in this brew. My wife, Kendra, was a little turned off by it too. I know it's not really looked favorably upon by beer advocates, but just for the heck of it, we tried filtering this bottle with a tea infuser. It definitely took longer to pour, but it took care of the floaters, and there wasn't a noticeable tea taste left over, so no harm done.

This is definitely a good recipe and worth making, particularly this time of year. The only real reservation I have about it is the volume it makes. With so much trub from the extra fermentables, it's hard to get as many bottles out of the batch as I would have liked.

Witty Monk Witbier - Photo

2008-09-15T21:54:00.003-04:00

It's all gone now, but before we finished the last bottle, I snapped a picture of the WMW.

Again, the lighting was pretty bad, so it looks a little darker than it actually turned out, but it carbed well, and tasted great too. The spices were well pronounced, and it was quite refreshing. I shared with a number of friends and everyone seemed to like it. It was a good summer brew that I will plan on making again next summer. I may try adding something else to it next time, be it fruit or hops. We'll see.

Fruit in a Bottle

2008-09-15T18:35:00.009-04:00

10 days ago by day counter #2, I bottled both kegs (which had been in the kegs for 20 days by day counter #1). Unfortunately, not everything went as smoothly as it normally does, and I pulled a wilson on both kegs. For one, I wasn't able to fill as many bottles as I normally can due to an inordinate amount of trub in the bottle of both kegs. I'm assuming this was due to the high level of fermentables in these batches. For both batches, I used regular old cane sugar for priming, and each batch is a mix of plastic liters and swing-top pints. At the moment, it's escaping me as to which batch got the bottles with labels. I made sure to put the beer mix labels with the appropriate batch, so I'll get it right when it counts.

The Tawny Honey Rose (which I still haven't renamed) was particularly troublesome. The cherries kept getting stuck in the tap. After a few failed attempts at digging them out with straw, I had to reach into the keg and clear the tap with my finger. Needless to say, if there are off flavors in this keg I will not be surprised or happy about it. The brew itself had cleared up considerably and had a nice full taste. If there is no contamination, I expect this to be a pretty good batch.

The Black and Booberry Bock (B&BB) cooperated a little longer before needing the same treatment. Luckily, most of the bottles were already full, so I was able to tilt the keg and avoid putting my hand directly into the beer. It too had cleared up nicely and had a nice full taste. I have high hopes for this batch as well.

After 8 days on day counter #2, I checked the bottles and was quite happy to find them as hard as a rock. I plan on letting most of them go the full 2 weeks that I normally allow before loading them into the fridge. However, I went ahead and loaded 2 bottles from each batch into the fridge. This should tell me if the extra week is needed once the bottles are firm. If it isn't, that means better beer sooner. I plan on opening one of each batch after the first of October... if I can wait that long.

Coffee Oatmeal Stout - Photo

2008-08-31T00:11:00.007-04:00

So, I realized that I only have a few bottles of my COS (and the WMW, for that matter) left, but I never bothered to post any photos.

Even with the bad lighting and crappy iPhone camera, it's obviously dark and well carbed.

Normally, I wait until a batch is gone before wrapping up, but I think now is as good a time as any. This was a good batch, though I don't think that the addition of plain old brewed coffee is something that I'm likely to repeat. It wasn't bad, but it seemed to affect the taste more than I would have liked. I'm really not sure what possessed me to try it in so many bottles. I don't even like cold coffee drinks! Of course, I don't really remember liking Ugly Mug Saving Grace coffee anyway, so that may have had something to do with it, but their First Cup, that's a different story.

I also have to mention how happy I am with how much the extra conditioning has helped. By the day counter, we're at 48 days of conditioning, with the first 21 or so being warm. As hard as it is to be patient and wait it out, it's just a better tasting beer now, after the extra time. I'll be giving my next two kegs a little extra time as well. All of those flavors running around inside those bottles will need the extra time to chill.

Coffee Oatmeal Stout - Update

2008-08-23T10:01:00.004-04:00

I opened up another bottle of COS a couple of nights ago and I was quite pleased with it. The overwhelming coffee taste had conditioned out quite nicely, and the taste was much more balanced. My day timer read 38 days since carbing/conditioning began, which mean that this bottle was warm 14-21 days and cold nearly 3 weeks. Lesson learned: if it tastes out of balance, give it another week or two in the fridge and try it again.

The coffee can still be tasted, and I still think that adding espresso in lieu of regular coffee would have been better, but I also have to point out that the oatmeal stout is really good without the added coffee taste, to the point that I'm not sure which I like better. The coffee shots definitely slow it down. I find myself taking nearly twice as long to finish a glass of the COS. I may try a few coffee shots in my next batch of St. Patrick's Irish Stout as well. We'll see

Two New Kegs

2008-08-19T21:09:00.005-04:00

5 days ago by the day counter, I started a couple new kegs. I'm not entirely sure what possessed me (other than my wife) to start both of these particular recipes, but I've got two fruity concoctions fermenting away as I type.

I realized that I was behind on brewing when I got an email that my next brew club order was about to ship, but I hadn't started the last brew club order. Mr.sBeer is gracious enough to let you delay brew club orders for up to 3 months without halting your brew club membership, and if you need longer than that, you can always join back up later. Initially, I put the order off 1 month, but entirely unexpectedly, the brewing bug caught me again, and before I knew it, I had ordered two new recipes.

It's my biggest, most fruitiful order yet (7 cans of brewing materials), which is odd, coming from me. I'm a committed stout and brown ale drinker, and I often shun fruity brews. It could have something to do with our anniversary falling about the time these will be ready to drink, but whatever the reason, they're coming. One thing to note: the instructions called for pureeing the fruit, a step that I neglected in my last fruit brew. In any case, enough fluff!

Black and Booberry Bock

Mr.Beer has this one clocking in at 6.6% ABV, SRM of 12 (light color), and IBU of 6 (no bitterness). Here's how the ingredients shake out:

1 Can Bewitched Red Ale

1 Can Golden Wheat UME

1 Can Blueberries in Light Syrup

1 Can Blackberries in Light Syrup

I really liked the red ale last time around, so I have pretty high hopes for this batch. The instructions call for 3 to 4 weeks of lagering before drinking, so I'm planning on this being about a 3-2-3 batch.

Tawny Honey Rose...sort of

OK, I really hate the name. It's just dumb. The good news is, I mixed my ingredients up a little and so what was going to be THR, will soon be called something much, much cooler... as soon as I can think of a better name.

1 Can Octoberfest Vienna Lager

1 Can Mellow Amber UME

1 Packet Dry Brewing Yeast (under lid of beer mix)

1 Can Dark Sweet Cherries in Heavy Syrup

The original recipe called for Golden Wheat UME instead of Mellow Amber, but when I went to start brewing, Mellow Amber is what I had. Mr.Beer has this one clocking in at 5.6% ABV, SRM of 13, and IBU of 13 (barely bitter). It's got a suggested lager time of 2 to 4 weeks, so maybe 3-2-3 for this one.

Grammar

2008-08-07T22:04:00.005-04:00

So, I realized just tonight that I've been spelling the name of B[rew]Log all wrong. I had intended to call it "Manmade" beer, as in, "a man has made this beer." In other words, I was trying to imply that this was manly beer, beer produced by my own hands and not purchased at the store, or something like that. While you could have certainly interpreted the original title ("Man Made Beer") the same way, it could also be read "Man, collectively, has made beer before." Of course men made beer before I did. One in particular (I call him Mr.Beer) has helped me carry on the tradition. Now, I've a glass of WMW to drink... to grammar and disambiguation!

Oatmeal Stout and Witbier Update

2008-08-05T21:43:00.003-04:00

OK, so I've officially neglected my b[rew]log (New term. What do you think?). Since the last post, I've fermented, bottled, conditioned, and tasted both my Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout (SWOS) and my Witty Monk Witbier (WMW). Let's take this in chronological order...

Fermentation:
I let both kegs ferment for 21 days. By day 3-4, I was able to observe some fermentation action in both kegs. Both kegs showed considerable action during week 2 and the wort samples were quite cloudy and yeasty. Action tailed off quickly during week 3, while both kegs cleared up considerably and the wort samples were much more, well, beer like.

Bottling:
I realized that on bottling day that I had left a couple bottles at my brother's house, so I supplemented my plastic bottles with a glass pint and a 12 oz. twisty each. The WMW went in the unlabeled plastics, while the SWOS went the labeled ones. Also, I put a double-shot of cooled, brewed coffee in four of the plastic SWOS bottles (marked with the Mr.Beer caps, henceforth abbreviated SWCOS), as well as the twisty top. After 15 days of warm conditioning/carbing I put 4 of each of the plastic bottles (two SWCOS, two SWOS) and the twisties into the beer fridge. After 5 days, I couldn't wait anymore and it was time to crack open a couple bottles.

Tasting:
To begin with, carbonation seems to have performed well enough in the roughly 2 weeks that these were carbing. The worst was the twisty top SWCOS, but that is to be expected with a twisty, and even it had some carbonation. For the taste samples, let's take them one by one.

SWCOS - This was the twisty top 12oz. The coffee taste definitely dominated the brew. I'm expecting some extra cold conditioning time will be needed to take the edge off. I LOVE coffee, so I didn't mind the taste, but I also LOVE stout, so it would have been nice to have a more balanced taste. I'm really looking forward to trying another one of these in another week or two.

SWOS - This was one of the plastic bottles. I am quite happy with how this turned out. Like I said, I'm a big fan of stouts (particularly Old Rasputin Imperial Russian Stout), but this is my first oatmeal stout, and it's my favorite brew of my own yet. It opens smooth and slightly sweet, but that quickly fades into a roasty malt taste. In keeping with the style, it's not quite as "stout" as other stouts, but it's still slow enough to be considered a session beer.

WMW - This tastes like Blue Moon with orange in it, but slightly stronger and more aromatic. I like it and I would definitely brew it again, but I might try it with fruit or something like that. It's quick and a great summer brew (particularly right after cutting the grass).

Bottom line, the two cans of beer mix seem to have made a difference, as expected. The brews just taste better. I'm wishing that Mr.Beer did all malt versions of some of their mixes that are packaged with UME. While I'll probably go back to a UME brew or two (like the next batches: St. Patrick's Irish Stout and Octoberfest's Vienna Lager), but having tried all three levels of brew packs, the premiums take the cake.

Two New Brews

2008-06-22T21:54:00.002-04:00

Not much to say here except that I started two new batches tonight. The first, Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout. I'm a big fan of stouts, so hopefully this one won't disappoint.

The second, Witty Monk Witbier. This one smelled amazing. It was quite citrusy and I'm really looking forward to it already. I should also mention that since there are extra hops in the Witbier, I boiled the wort for about 15 minutes before chilling it.

Both of these are premium mixes, so they come with two cans of beer mix and no UME or Booster. Like the UME was a great improvement over the Booster, I'm hoping that the extra beer mix is even better. I'm planning on giving these kegs 3 weeks fermentation time since it seems to have worked so well with the last two kegs.

Nut-Brown Ale - First Taste

2008-06-22T21:16:00.007-04:00

Two nights ago, I couldn't take it anymore, and I popped open one the Nut-Brown Ales in a plastic bottle. This bottle was conditioned 14 days warm, 7 cold (3-2-1 in all). In short, it is easily the best keg that I've made yet. To start with, carbonation went very well, as you can see...

I'll definitely be taking a little longer to pour these. The color is dark brown and the head quite large. The head retention was not as good as I would have liked, but that's ok.

The Mello Amber certainly is an improvement over the Booster. This batch has more of the beer taste that I was looking for but missing in the previous batches. Specifically, it's a brown ale with a taste I would describe as roasted. It's not very complex, but it seems like a good beer to build on. I'd really like to add hazelnut or some spices to the next batch.

Since I was brewing two kegs at once, I didn't have room for all the bottles in the beer fridge at the same time. I put half of each batch in the beer fridge, and left the other halves warm until today.

Bewitched Red Ale (w/ Mellow Amber)

2008-05-30T23:29:00.006-04:00

After 20 days in the keg, I bottled this one tonight too. Some quick notes now, and maybe more to come. First off, recipe:

1 can Bewitched Red Ale

1 can Mellow Amber UME

1/2 cup honey

Sampling the wort, it wasn't as clear as the Nut-Brown Ale (NBA), but it definitely tasted like a red ale. It tasted malty/slightly sour, and I could definitely smell the hops. Unlike the NBA, there wasn't much if any carbonation already. One other interesting note, I noticed some grainy type substance in the wort that may just be the hops, but I can't say for sure. Again, I used some glass and some plastic bottles to monitor the carbonation levels. Also, QBrew has this one coming in at around 5.8% ABV.

Englishman's Nut-Brown Ale (w/ Mellow Amber)

2008-05-30T21:19:00.005-04:00

OK, so I've officially neglected the brew log. I've had a keg of Englishman's Nut-Brown Ale brewing for 20 days according to the day counter and this is the first I've posted about it...

On a better note, this is the first brew I've made with a UME instead of Booster. I sampled the wort tonight and I must say, I am really excited about this one. The wort had cleared up VERY nicely. It seriously almost looked good enough to drink, but of course, tasted flat. There was much more of a beer taste and less of a cidery, alcohol taste to the wort than on previous batches. I assume is due to the UME, but whatever it is, I like it. One thing that I did notice was that the small amount of head that invariably forms while I'm trying to bottle was thick and appeared to have staying power.

As I said before, this was my first batch with a can of UME. Here's the full recipe:

1 Can Englishman's Nut-Brown Ale

1 Can Mellow Amber UME

1/2 cup of Honey

QBrew has this one clocking in at 5.8% ABV. Hopefully this won't have any negative effects on carbonation as it's pretty close to Mr.Beer's published limit of 6%. I used a mix of glass and plastic bottles. I'm planning on using the plastic ones to monitor the carbonation levels for at least a couple of weeks before dropping a few bottles in the fridge.

MCD Round-up

2008-05-30T21:06:00.003-04:00

The MCD wound up being not that bad. After some more conditioning, the molasses taste was still there, but a lot more muted. 1 cup was definitely too much, but tolerable, given enough conditioning time. The head had better retention than any of my previous brews, but still wasn't that great. Bottom line: I don't plan on making this recipe again. What did I learn? You can't condition away everything undesirable... at least not in a month and a half of conditioning.

Update... Finally...

2008-05-10T11:42:00.004-04:00

So, I've been a little busy lately finishing up a side project that I've been working on, plus my regular 8:00 to 4:30, so of course that means, the blog has been a little neglected. Things are calming down, and I'm actually waiting on my Nut-Brown Ale wort to cool (yes, finally getting around to it), so there's no time like the present to take a few notes.

While I haven't found the the time to post about making beer, I have found time to drink a few bottles of both the BW and the MCD. To start with, neither batch carbed as well as I would have liked. I just put the remaining bottles in the fridge today and pulled one particularly flat feeling MCD out. The day counter reads 26 days, so hopefully I'll have better luck with the carbonation on these bottles. If not, I'm thinking that I used too many fermentables and the extra alcohol is shutting down the yeast before carbonation completes.

Carbonation issues aside, the BW is pretty good, which is kind of surprising considering how bottling went. It tastes wheaty, as expected, with just a hint of blueberry. Even though the alcohol content should be around 5.6%, this batch does not have the distinct alcohol taste that the HOW had (also 5.6%). It may be the blueberries. The color is mostly dull brown, almost like sweet tea, but with a dash of dark blue in it. I think I might try this recipe again, but with UME instead of Booster.

As for the MCD, it's still a work in progress. The color is amber, as you might expect combining the light Canadian Draft with molasses. It took me three evenings to finish one liter of the stuff because the molasses flavor was so strong. It's taking forever for this stuff to condition, but each time I tried, it tasted a little better. Today's glass wasn't so bad, which was encouraging. It still had a smokey, molasses taste on the start, but the bitter is starting to come through on the end. I was starting to think I might have to pour the batch out, but give it a few more weeks and I think it may come out alright.

Blueberry Wheat and MCD into the Fridge

2008-05-02T12:06:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning, I loaded most of the BW and MCD into the beer fridge. I say "most of" because it wouldn't all fit. I think I have 3 bottles of MCD and 2 of BW still carbing. It actually is going to work out well, because the last few bottles of MCD hadn't completely carbed yet. I checked them last night and they seem to have firmed up a little more, proving once again that patience is a virtue, and when it comes brewing, doubly so. For the record, the day counter read 16 days when I loaded up the fridge. We may open up the half bottle of BW tonight, just because I'm curious and I don't expect any amount of conditioning to make that bottle taste good.

Honey Pale Ale - Round Up

2008-04-21T21:57:00.007-04:00

So, this post is a little late in coming as we've already polished off about half of the HPA, but last night, I finally got a bottle that I was proud of. To start with, I've been a little disappointed with the carbonation levels thus far on this batch. The bottle have been carbonated, but have little to no head. Also, despite what I've read, I haven't had any noticeable trouble with the twisty top bottles. I'll probably continue to use them if I need a few more bottles to use the rest of the keg at bottling time. The clarity is pretty good too. It's certainly a lot less cloudy that the Weizenbier, but that's to be expected, I suppose.

As for taste, it's ok, but still not quite what I'm looking for. It's a little bitter and I find that I drink it slower, even just sipping it occasionally. There is also a definite difference in the taste between the brown sugar bottles and the white sugar bottles. The brown tastes a little stronger and slightly more bitter than the white. I'm not really sure what could have caused this as the only real difference between the two sugars is that the brown has molasses in it. All this to say, of the 4 brews that I've made so far, this one has the most distinctly beer flavor... but it's just not the beer flavor that I'm looking for.

Blueberry Weizenbier - Bottling

2008-04-15T07:24:00.004-04:00

I actually bottled this two days ago, but I just now realized that I forgot to post something about it. To begin with, the wort tasted yeasty and slightly tart with a hint of blueberry. I was as pleased with it as you can be with the taste of wort. From there, things went downhill a little...

First off, I noticed that the liquid level inside the BW keg was a lot lower than the MCD keg next to it. There wasn't wort running down the front or back of the cabinet that the kegs were on, so it wasn't a leak. The only thing that I can conclude is that I forgot to add additional water to the keg when I first loaded it up. I guess this means that I will have more concentrated beer but less of it. It may actually work out well to counter act a watered down taste I've been getting in the Booster recipes I've been brewing.

After about 4 and half bottles into bottling, the flow from the tap all but stopped. My guess was that a blueberry had gotten stuck in the tap. I gave the front of the keg a good smack/shake or two, but to no avail. After fighting with it for ten more minutes, I had to embrace the obvious: I had to open it up and get that blueberry out myself. It's the first keg I've opened to do anything but clean it or load it. I washed my hands really well, stuck my hand into the keg and removed a blueberry from the inside of the tap. I was able to fill the rest of the bottle and half of the next before it happened again. I removed that blueberry as well and able to finish that bottle and half of one more before I decided it wasn't worth continuing.

I ended up with 6.5 1 Liter PET bottles, 2.5 of which may be contaminated from air/my fingers. Hopefully at least the first four will hold out. With the pale ale finishing up conditioning and the MCD just bottled on the same day as the BW, I'm going to hold off making anything else for a few weeks, though I may regret it if either the MCD or BW doesn't turn out...

MCD (Molasses Canadian Draft) - Bottling

2008-04-13T17:51:00.003-04:00

I sampled my MCD today and all the sweetness was gone from the wort. There was a distinct molasses flavor (which I think tastes smoky, for some reason), but a beer taste as well, and certainly not sweet, so I went ahead an bottled it. I wasn't terribly excited by the taste, but I kind of expected it after using an entire cup of molasses. It's pretty potent stuff, and I hope that some extra conditioning time might mellow it out a bit. I used GV Pure Cane sugar to prime and 8 1 Liter plastic PET bottle from Mr.Beer. Since I now have two sets of these, I put the Mr.Beer stickers on the bottles, just to help keep one batch from the other. The day counter read 15 days, so just with just over 2 weeks of fermentation time, I'll start the carb/condition counter.

All around update

2008-04-08T07:32:00.005-04:00

I opened up another bottle of Honey-Orange Weizenbier last night and was quite pleased with the results. The color was the same slightly cloudy, golden color with a pretty impressive head as well...

I could still taste what I assume is the extra alcohol and I think that I was even able to detect a slight numbing sensation. My best guess is that this beer ended up around 6% and using pretty much sugar alone to boost the alcohol content is what causes this. Going with this theory, I've ordered my next two beer mixes: Bewitched Red Ale w/Mellow Amber and Englishman's Nut-Brown Ale w/Mellow Amber. Both of these of course, come with a can of malt extract which (according to everything I read) should make for more beer taste and less of an alcohol bite even though the ABV will be higher.

Moving on, I went ahead and moved my Honey Pale Ale to the fridge to start cold conditioning. The day counter read 11 days. Especially since there are still 3 liters of the Honey-Orange Weizenbier left, I'll probably let this group cold condition for a week or so before breaking into one of them. I've ordered another set of plastic PET bottles from Mr.Beer as well. When these come in, I should be able to accommodate the MCD and Blueberry Wheat that I currently have 10 days going in the kegs. Fermentation seems to have completed on both kegs, but as I'm in no rush, I'll probably give them 4 more days to make it an even two weeks.

Double-action

2008-03-29T16:59:00.006-04:00

I got super motivated today and kegged my last two beer mixes. In keg number 1...

MCD (Molasses Canadian Draft)

1 Can High Country Canadian Draft beer mix

1 Pouch Booster

1 Cup Molasses

I'm not quite sure what possessed me to pair molasses with HCCD, but I had a cup of it lying around, so I figured that I'd go ahead and give it a shot. HCCD isn't my favorite beer mix anyway, so no worries if it's bad. One thing to note about the brewing process with this keg is I added all the fermentables and the beer mix, then boiled the wort for a few minutes.

...and in keg number 2...

Blueberry Wheat

1 Can Whispering Wheat Weizenbier beer mix

1 Pouch Booster

1 Cup Honey

1 Can Oregon Blueberries in Light Syrup

It's quite a bit of fermentables, so I'm hoping that doesn't mess anything up. This should be a pretty high ABV brew as well (5.6% by the Mr.Beer fermentables chart). The blueberries were Kendra's request, but I'm really interested to see how it turns out. I pretty much stuck to the Mr.Beer manual this time with a few variations. I dissolved the Booster and honey first, then brought it to a boil. Once it was boiling, I removed the heat and added the beer mix. I then proceeded as normal, chilling the wort before adding it to the keg. I added cold water to the keg to the appropriate level and then added the blueberries. Finally, the yeast went in, I let it sit for 5 minutes, gave it one more good stirring and capped it.

Orange-Honey Weizenbier - First Taste

2008-03-29T13:17:00.003-04:00

We opened up the first PET bottle of my Orange-Honey Weizenbier last night and had pretty favorable results overall. The only real downside was that it didn't carbonate completely...

First impression: it's pretty good. I think that I could taste (and certainly feel) that the alcohol content is definitely higher. I think that I could detect a slight citrus taste, but not enough to notice if I wasn't really looking for it. There was a slight wheat taste and the color was light gold, as expected.

I only let it chill 12 hours before opening the bottle, and I think that I should have given it at least a couple of days. I think I'll give it another week or two to carb/condition and see if there is any difference.

It tasted like beer, but there still wasn't as much taste as I would have liked. I'm beginning to wonder if the Booster is the problem. My next order will probably include some malt extract instead of Booster, just to give it a try.

Honey Pale Ale - Bottling

2008-03-28T16:30:00.004-04:00

OK, so I'm tired of typing out names like "West Coast [Honey] Pale Ale" all the time, so I'm going to start using shorter versions. Two mornings ago (around 1:30 AM on March 27th to be exact), I bottled my Honey Pale Ale. I did sample a little and it tasted like flat beer. It's supposed to be a bitter brew, and I could definitely taste it. We had just finished off the last Honey Vienna Lager (which ended up being a hit with friends and the wife, by the way), so I went ahead and used the pint swing-tops plus 4 or 5 12oz. Yuengling bottles that I had lying around. They're twisty tops, which I have read are not good to reuse, but I wasn't going to let the rest of that brew just go to waste. I also decided to try some light brown sugar that I had lying around on 6 of the pints, just to see if there is any noticeable difference. I picked up a couple of digital day counters last weekend too, so they should help me keep up with it.

WHWOW - Carbonating

2008-03-23T21:36:00.006-04:00

So, I just realized that I bottled my WHWOW 2 Fridays ago, but never posted about it. For the record, I bottled it in the plastic PET bottles on March 14th. After a week and a half, I'm pleased to report that the bottles are "rock-hard" and seem to have cleared up considerably. I'm really interested to find out how this one turned out. If it goes well, I just may have to give it a real name, though, I don't seem to have a natural aptitude for naming brews.

In other news, I picked up a new piece of equipment over the weekend. While visiting Kendra's folks, I came across a pair of digital day counters in a shop. I had to have them. They came in two packs and have a suction cup on the back. These will help me remember just how long a brew has been at its current stage... and help prevent something like me forgetting to post about bottling a brew.

Vienna Honey Lager - Update

2008-03-17T22:37:00.003-04:00

We opened up a couple more pints of the Vienna Honey Lager last night and the extra time seems to have done a lot. The flavor was much better and didn't taste watered down anymore. That being said, I still wished that there was more of it, the flavor, that is. I'm chalking this up to 2 things: using Booster instead of a malt extract, and it's just the nature of this specific beer mix. There are 6 more pints conditioning, so we'll see if it gets better with time. The honey seems to have worked well. I think I may try molasses next, just to see if there is any difference.

West Coast [Honey] Pale Ale - Fermentation

2008-03-13T23:23:00.009-04:00

Alc/Vol: Approximately 4.6%
Color: 3 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBU

I'm trying to get this brewing cycle down so that there is always something fermenting, something carbonating/conditioning and something to drink. With the WHWOW on deck to bottle, I started brewing some West Coast Pale Ale with honey in my second keg that I got from Kendra's parents. I didn't have anymore Great Value brand honey, so I used some other brand that escapes me at the moment. I'll make sure to update this entry later with the actual brand name. I do remember using a cup of this honey on the WHWOW which may or may not be having problems. If this batch of Pale Ale has the same kind of issues, the honey is the common denominator. All in all, I'm not a real pale ale fan, but it was the only one of the brews that I have that I haven't tried.

I went ahead and used the Booster too as I really don't have a reason not to. I have two more brew packs (another Weizenbier and another Canadian Draft) and then I'm hoping to try some of the nicer brew packs or maybe even a recipe. Lately, I've seemed to be in the mood for darker brews, so maybe a stout or a nut-brown ale. I'm sure that Kendra wouldn't mind it if I attempted something like a blueberry wheat too...

Whispering [Honey] Wheat [Orange] Weizenbier - Update

2008-03-13T22:54:00.007-04:00

OK, so tomorrow makes two weeks on my most adventurous brew yet, Whispering [Honey] Wheat [Orange] Weizenbier (WHWOW), and though it looks like all of the CO₂ bubbles have disappeared from the top the keg, the brew hasn't really cleared up that much and I can't see much trub at the bottom. I'm not really sure if fermentation halted for some reason, or if the orange zest oils have just clouded up the brew. I did pour a shot of it just to see and it looked a little gross. It looked milky, but darker than milk, almost like Strawberry Refresh Fuze. I gave it a taste and almost surprisingly, it definitely tastes/smells like beer. I'll give it another try on Sunday and see if it has cleared up at all. If it hasn't, I may just assume that it's the orange/wheat combination clouding it up and bottle it. I'll probably use the PET bottles this time, just to make sure that it's carbonating and that the yeast isn't toast.