| Brew Number | Brew Date | Bottle Date | Yield | Type/Style |
| Brew #1 | 20050820 | 20050904 | 24x22oz bottles | Stout kit w/extract & grain |
| Brew #2 | 20050822 | 20050902 | 24x22oz bottles | Irish Rye Stout kit w/extract & grain |
| Brew #3 | 20050904 | 20050912 | 23x22oz bottles | Old English Pale Ale w/extract & grain |
| Brew #4 | 20051217 | 20051223 | 25x22oz bottles | Western Amber w/extract & grain |
I've brewed beer at home before, but it's been several years since I last messed with it. Good commercial and micro brews are available now like never before, but at a prohibitive cost. Having some time (a couple of weeks of vacation time) and interest, I've decided to start back. Below are some notes which are likely of interest to nobody; perhaps myself included.
I get my supplies from Brew City Supplies (the walk-in store is known as the Market Basket). This is the same outfit I used years ago and at the time I was quite happy with their helpfulness and low key attitude, and the years have done nothing to change that.
6Lb plain malt extract syrup 8oz Crystal Malt 4oz Black Patent Malt 8oz Malto-Dextrin 1oz bittering hops 1oz finishing hops 1 packet yeast priming sugarI did boil the grain, which is in accordance with the directions but contrary to what most of the books and web sites say - it extracts undesirable flavors as well. Shouldn't be the end of the world - I brought it just to a boil then let it steep 30 mins. I boiled the wort for an hour almost exactly, adding the finishing hops about 5 mins short. My boil pot will only hold about 2.5 gallons so some of the water came straight from the gallon jug (I bought Roundy's bottled water).
I'm not too sure about my sanitation regime - it's been a while. I did boil my wort chiller and discarded the (tap) water. I pulled it out too soon though, and wound up rinsing it off and inserting it into the fermentation bucket - a dubious practice at best. I didn't get any bubbling in the 5 hours between bucketing and going to bed, but it was bubbling vigorously the following morning. Time will tell.
It seems not to have been a problem; bottled on 9/4 and didn't see any evidence of a problem with contamination.
Brewed Saturday, 8/20/2005. Placed in basement.
6lb plain malt extract syrup 1lb rye malt 1lb carapils malt 8oz crystal malt 4oz black patent malt 4oz chocolate malt 1 stick brewers licorice 1oz bittering hops 1oz finishing hops safbrew yeast priming sugarLots of grain in this one; had to use a bigger pot! I also only heated the cracked grain up to 170°F as recommended in several written and online references. This batch went much more smoothly than the last, as one would expect for a first time back after a number of years. took about 3.5 hours start to finish, which isn't too bad. The mess was considarably smaller this time, which is certainly welcome :)
Bottled and took the opportunity to sample; it's good stuff. There was a good inch of yeast sediment at the bottom of the fermenter, which surprised me a little. I did not check the SG of either the starting or ending product, so don't know the alc % but it's smelling and tasting great. Can't wait to taste it after it has a chance to condition.
6 Lb. Plain Malt extract syrup 1 lb. Crystal malt 8 oz. Specially roasted malt 1oz. Bittering hops 1oz. Finishing hops Safbrew Yeast Priming sugarThe yeast in this kit was more than a year old, but it's supposed to be good for two years and did show some activity when I put it in the water, so I assume it's ok. I did a bad thing and aerated the wort while it was still hot - I started stirring as soon as I turned on the chiller :( We'll see what that does to the outcome. The blowoff hose for the carboy could stand to be a tiny bit bigger for a more solid fit - I think it'll be ok for short term use but will look for a better answer longer term. This one I'll leave on only until the initial big blowoff completes, then I'll put the bung & airlock in. I draped a garbage bag over the works for good measure.
Monday, 5 September 2005
There was really a lot of blowoff from the carboy; some foam and beer blew off into the container I had on the saw. I don't think I lost too much volume, but I can't really say I care for the dynamic. Things have slowed down enough now that I have put the regular stopper and airlock on, and put the big hose in the kitchen sink to soak overnight. We'll have to see about using the carboy as a primary; perhaps if I had a 6 gal unit instead of the 5 gal it would make better sense. Too bad; there are a few things that appeal to me about using it, including the "it's cool" factor. Another thing to consider, anyway. The beer smells good.
6 Lb. Plain malt extract syrup 8 oz. Crystal Malt 8 oz. Malto-Dextrin 1oz. Bittering hops 1oz. Finishing hops Irish Moss Yeast Priming sugar
All told, about 3 hours. Getting more organized and it's getting easier with practice (unsurprisingly).