Been a While

Wow, family life gets crazy quickly.  However, after a few weeks off the grid, I'm going to try and breathe new life into my brewing.  I haven't brewed in over a month and just bottled a batch yesterday.  That batch was long overdue, I might add.  So, here's hoping I can get back in the saddle, albeit slowly.

Rolled Up Irish Red - this beer is finally coming into its own.  Because of the high alcohol content (8.5), it's taking a bit longer to finish.  It's carbed up well, but still has a slight alcohol burn which I'm hoping will go down with more conditioning time.  Over all, though, it's a pretty good beer.  Not a Jeremiah Red, which is what I was shooting for, but a good beer nonetheless.

Bottom Number Blonde - since I screwed up the heat on the fermentation, I was worried that this beer would suck.  It does, but not as bad as I thought it would.  It's drinkable, but doesn't have the flavor I was hoping for.  A little too bready/yeasty for my taste.  Hopefully I'll be re-brewing this in the next few weeks and I can pull it off like it's supposed to be.

Nuts 'N Butts Brown Ale - this beer is tasting good.  I should have bottled it a week or two ago, but I'll get to it soon.  Hopefully by the end of this week.  It's a good brown, but not quite as tasty as I was hoping.  I'll have to tweak it slightly and see what happens.  I'd like it to be a good session ale if I can get the recipe right.

Hard Cider - still fermenting.  I haven't checked the SG, but I need to.  This should be up around 6% by now, I would think.  I'm going to rack it to a secondary and add a bit more honey and some more apple juice to sweeten it up from the dry mead taste it has now.  I really like it, but the gal I'm making it for doesn't want it too dry.

MJ14 Special Dark - just bottled this - again, overdue.  I was dry-hopping it with oak chips and let it sit at least a week longer than the recipe called for.  Still tastes good, though, albeit kind of like a Dogfish Head mated with a Guiness. . . still, it's a pretty good beer.  Can't wait to see how it tastes out of the bottle.

Vienna Lager - I plan on brewing this one before Christmas, if things work out.  If so, it won't be ready until June or so.

Barleywine - I've had this recipe sitting on my computer for a couple of months just waiting for the right time to make it.  I'm hoping before the New Year, which would bring it in around mid spring or so.  We'll see.

Overall, my brewing/bottling has definitely slowed down.  I'm in the process of rethinking my pace, which was a bit brutal in Sept/Oct, but I was trying to get all the beer I wanted for Christmas done.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting back into it, even if it is at a reduced rate.  Salud.

Weekly Update, 11/10/10

Newly bottled Over-the-Fence Weissbier

Ad-Seg IPA - tastes great.  Almost done conditioning in the bottle. 

Rolled Up Irish Red - in the bottle.  Very alcoholic (8.5%) to the taste at bottling - probably will take a couple of months to reach best flavor.  Good now, but too much alcoholic burn.

Hard Cider - in the fermenter for a few weeks.  Used Wyeast Sweet Mead yeast and it's fermenting like crazy.  Didn't expect it to be so fast or furious.  Had to install blowoff tube.

Early morning bottling crew

Short Timer Stout - ready to rack to secondary.  Tastes great.  This one's a keeper.

Planning on brewing a brown ale (Nuts 'n Butts Brown Ale) this weekend.  It's the last beer I'm going to try and get done before Christmas.  Here's hoping!

Weekly Update, 10/23/2010

This week marked the first in a while that I didn't brew.  But only because all my buckets and carboys are full of beer - which is a good thing.  However, I will be brewing in the next day or two as I have just transferred my Contraband Chocolate Stout to the secondary.  So, here's what's going on as of now:

Ad-Seg IPA - bottle conditioning.  Popped one and the taste is great - a tad cloying, but I'm hoping that fades with carbonation.

Over-the-Fence Wiessbier - mostly gone due to an Oktoberfest party last night.  Need to make more, though - it was a hit with a lot of people, particularly the ladies.

Contraband Chocolate Stout - transferred to secondary today.  Added Belgian chocolate as I did.  Smells great.  Can't wait to taste it.  Only about 7% ABV, which means it should be ready for Christmas.

Brevis Bock - still lagering.  Still has a funny taste to it.  Hope it's nothing.

Bottom Number Blonde - ready to be brewed within the next 48 hours.  Can't wait.

Rolled Up Irish Red - primary fermentation is almost non-existent after a very furious beginning.  Lost about 1/2 gallon of beer to fermentation.  Thank God for blowoff hoses.

Weekly Update, 10/14/10

I haven't had much time to post my impressions on all the beers I have going right now, so here's an aggregate of what's happening:

Ad-Seg IPA - still stuck at 1.040.  Cold crashed it and the sediment settled out, but no change in SG.  Plan on bottling within the next couple of days.  Taste is dead-on to Dogfish Head 90.

Off Paper Lager - conditioning in the bottle, though first tests show good carbonation and OK head retention.  I'll probably throw in a heading powder next time.  Taste is good, but less fruity than Dos Equis Lager.  The fruity esters seems to have mellowed in the lagering/bottle conditioning.  Still decent, for what it is.

Contraband Chocolate Stout - in the primary and fermenting like crazy.  Still trying to decide how much cocoa to add to the secondary - 1oz, 2oz, 3oz, or more?

Brevis Bock - lagering away at 38 degrees.  Check yesterday still had an odd grainy flavor to it.  Should (hopefully) mellow out in lagering/conditioning.

Over-the-Fence Weissbier - carbed up super fast.  Tasty with good head.  Could be a new favorite.

Rolled Up Irish Red - just tried making this one again today after the last disaster with yeast.  Did a full boil this time.  Went well, OG came in higher than expected.  Should be pretty tasty, if all continues well.

On deck is Bottom Number Blonde, my first attempt at all-grain brewing using the BIAB (brew in a bag) method.  After that, a Guiness inspired Dry Stout, though not a Guiness clone.

Over all, the brewing thing seems to be going well.  I like it, I'm learning a lot, and I'm going to have some great beers to give away for Christmas.  Besides that, I'll have a lot of great beers to enjoy myself throughout the holidays.  Cheers!

Updates on All Brews

Last night I checked all my brews with the following results:

Ad-Seg - fermentation stuck at 1.040 for the last five days.  To be a proper Dogfish Head clone, it needs to get down to at least 1.020 and preferrably 1.010.  I'd like at least 8%ABV or else this can't be called anything like a clone.  So, tonight I'm going to make a 1/2 gallon wort with .5# of DME and pitch 12g Muntons Brewer's Yeast I have on and in it.  Once it begins to ferment, I'm going to pitch the whole thing into the Ad-Seg primary and see what happens.

Brevis - fermenting great!  Down to 1.012.  Shooting for 1.010, but should be there by the end of the week.  Then I rack it to the secondary and lager for 36+ days.  Taste out of the hyrdo test is a little grainier than I expected, but pretty good.  I'm hoping the grainy taste mellows out in the lagering process.

Off-Paper - this stuff is my crown jewel as of now.  It's the first brew I made with my own recipe rather than a kit.  I bottled it on Friday last week at 4.1%ABV.  It tastes almost exactly like I remember Dos Equis tasting.  My neighbors should be happy.  It's also the right color.  Once I finish bottle conditioning it, I will post some pics and final thoughts.

Off Paper Lager: Update 2

Racked OPL to the secondary and am step-down lagering from 52-35 degrees over 7 days.  Then leaving it at 35 for a month.  Color is spot-on to Dos Equis Lager, as is flavor.  Drew a sample when racking for hydrometer/taste readings and my Dos Equis-loving neighbors assure me that the taste is right on the money.  Slightly bitter, but that should mellow out in lagering and bottling.  I think I'll try this recipe again in a few months and if it turns out again, I'll post it on Homebrewtalk.com as a Dos Equis clone.

Off Paper Lager: Update

It is day 5 of the fermenting process and I did a gravity check and taste test.

Gravity = 1.020.  As the FG is estimated at 1.011, I'm hoping that it'll get there by Friday, which is when I'm scheduled to rack to the secondary and start another brew.  If it keeps going at this rate, it should be there without too much trouble.

Taste = like Dos Equis.  Since I'm trying to clone Dos Equis, this is a good thing.  Normally, for my personal tastes, this is a bad thing.  I swirled a couple of swigs around in my mouth to get a good read on it and I could taste a hint of fruitiness, but not too much.  It's a tad bitter, but that'll mellow out in the lagering process.

All in all, it seems as if my first brew with my own recipe is turning out rather well.  Gives me some hope for future brews.