Double Strong Ale

Not exactly how things went down, but I’m posting this here for posterity.

Double Strong Ale
http://www.brewtility.com/ViewRecipe.aspx?recipeID=454

Grain
2-row USA 20lb
Marris Otter 10lb
Flaked Oats 6lb
Crystal 40L 2lb
Crystal 80L 2lb
Molasses .5lb

Hops
Amarillo 9.5AA 4oz
Saaz 3.75 8oz
Cascade 5.75 2oz

Yeast
English Ale

First taste

So I put six bottles of my first batch in the fridge a few nights ago to try them out and see what I’d done.
And I like it. It’s a little on the sweet side, and a little more fruity than I’d prefer, but I definitely like it.
The aroma is a little bit like caramel or brown sugar.
The flavor is wintery, and I think next time I’ll try adding a little spice. Not much though, because it already has a pretty nutty, maybe even clove taste.
I am, honestly, a little impressed with myself; on my first try I made a beer I want to keep drinking.

Second Fermentation Starts

Tonight I transferred my first batch into the glass carboy for second fermentation. This part will take about three weeks. Three long weeks of seeing this beautiful beer every time I get dressed.

The picture captures the color fairly well. I’d say it’s a kind of dark rust color. It should clarify over the next few weeks and end up a little darker.

I tasted some again while testing the OG (1.020 by the way) and was a little surprised. Very flavorful and a little more citrus than I expected. Some of that might have been all the sediment that will settle.

Warm, Flat, Non-Alcoholic Beer

I just checked the OG on my beer and it was 1.022 at 72F. Which means that it’s about 1.026 at 60F.

I don’t know if that’s good or not, but it’s been 6 days so it’s probably about time to start the second fermentation.

I tasted it and didn’t immediately spit it out, so that’s a good sign. It tasted basically like warm, flat, non-alocholic beer, which is what I was hoping for.

Since Zach is here with me this weekend, I am not sure if we’ll get around to transferring this batch to the secondary fermenter (or “racking” the beer) tomorrow. Tuesday might be my next opportunity.

Like Watching Beer Ferment

So, this is supposed to be fermenting in a warm, calm, dark place, huh?

OK, closet it is. With a heater. That’s safe, right?

I checked on it this morning and there was no activity. Which makes me a little suspicious. I was expecting bubbles. It is, however, in a plastic Ale Pail, which means that the container can expand before air is forced through the bubbler.

I really hope that the yeast didn’t die from being unrefrigerated for so long. Seems unlikely, but plausible.

I really hope that I don’t have to drive all the freakin’ way back to the home brew store to get more of anything for a while. Now that I have the parts, I’ll be mail-ordering my ingredients, ’cause there are only two homebrew stores in the greater Chicago area and they’re both 45-60 minutes away.

Also, somehow, this got posted over the weekend. How fortuitous.

Update: It’s totally fermenting. Go, yeast, go!

My First Brew

This first batch is based off of the recipe for Ballard’s Wassail Special Strong Ale. Don’t ask why I picked a 4-week, double-fermenting winter ale for my first beer.

Description:

This full-bodied brew enters with a large rocky light beige head perched on an attractive tawny beer. The aroma is complex with a delightful mixture of sweet malt, dried fruit, and spices balanced with a nice dose of hops. Juicy malt caresses the palate and reluctantly finishes dry and bittersweet.

Original Gravity: 1.062; ABV: 6.0%

Directions: (strikethrough is where I deviated)

Heat 1 gallon of water to 155 160 F. Add 12oz. British 55L Crystal Malt, 1oz. British Black Patent Malt.

Remove the pot from heat and steep at 150 155 F for 30 minutes.

Strain into the brew pot, and rinse the grains with 1/2 gal of 150 F water.

Bring that to a boil. Remove from heat and add 7lb Muntons Extra Light Dry Malt Extract, 2oz. Fuggles @ 4% 4.9% AA (bittering hops).

Add water ’til the total volume is 2.5 gal, then boil for 45 min.

After 45 min, add 1 oz. East Kent Golding hops, and 1 tsp. Irish Moss.

After 13 min., add 1/2 oz. East Kent Golding hops, let boil 2 min.

Remove from stove and chill 20 min. Strain the wort into the primary fermenter and add cold water to get 5 1/8 gal. Once it reaches 70, pitch the yeast (Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley )

Ferment at 68-72 in the primary fermenter for 7 days, then siphon into the secondary fermenter.

Fermentation is complete when target gravity reached, and beer clears (about 3 weeks).

Boil 1 1/4 cups Muntons Extra Light Dry Malt Extract in 2 cups water, stir into beer immediately before bottling.

Let stand in bottles for about 4 weeks. Store at cellar temp.

Potential mistakes:

I took the yeast out when I got up at 7:30 this morning. Little did I know that it would be after 4:00 when I finally got to pitch it. Hopefully it’ll be fine.

Siphoning the beer out of the brew pot with loose hops does not work at all. At all. Next time, hops get their own bag so I can just take ‘em out when it’s time. Should’ve learned that lesson while brewing with Ben, but I only had one mesh bag, so…

In all of the panic after I realized that I hadn’t sealed the spout of the primary fermenter, I may have touched something that hadn’t been sterilized and then touched something that was. I don’t think anything bad happened, but we’ll find out in about a month.

I also forgot to add the Irish Moss ’til well after I should have, so the beer may end up cloudier than it otherwise would.

Predicted Outcome:

Because I added an extra half oz. of hops at the end, I think that this will be a dark, strong ale with a slightly hoppier aroma than one would expect. At least that’s what I was going for. I didn’t use the same yeast that the recipe

called for, but I have no idea how that will affect the outcome. Complete Joy said that every molecule in the beer will pass through the yeast, so yeast has a big effect.