Brew Day Today
2/19/2007 10:02:00 PM
(See what I'm talking about)
So, I got back on the homebrew wagon. Specifically, I was brewing today so that we have some homebrew in time to serve for our St. Patrick's Day party (I was going to dye the beer green, of course), but it seems that the brew I made - a Scottish Ale - is going to be WAY too dark to dye green. Oh well.
Brewing itself isn't that difficult - I felt a lot less stressed about it this time around than the first time... It's really the bottling that's a pain in the ass. Also, the fact that you have to wait a month to try it. But trying to juggle the final 30 minutes of boil, prepping the yeast and cooking dinner was a bit too much to handle, and I ended up spilling some of the beer - so I'll have a little less than 5 gallons this batch.
I'm also hoping it tastes less like the disinfectant this time around - but I was much better about not soaking things TOO long in the disinfectant and letting them dry out as well. Hopefully my efforts in that regard pay off. I didn't get any complaints about the first batch, but I think people were just being nice. To me, it tasted a bit too much like iodine.
I'm also not fermenting/conditioning in the garage, for obvious reasons. Yeast is very picky about temperatures, and with the fluctuations in the garage (due to, you know, using the garage) I decided on the downstairs bathroom. To be specific, the shower stall. Hopefully we don't have any surprise guests before bottling (which should only be a week or two from now anyway, so no biggie).
Dana just pointed out yesterday that Tuesday is Mardi Gras, so I'm going to whip up some etouffee for the occasion. And cornbread, of course. I think we'll probably skip the hurricane this year, however. I think we still have the bottle of 151 from last year's hurricane experiments..
D had a shitty day today and went to bed, and I'm pretty tired myself. Not to mention the fact I have to get up for work tomorrow. And actually, I'm not really dreading it. I must really be getting on top of stuff if that's the case.
This week: Mortgage guy! We have to talk with him! Get our stuff set up. Also, figure out what we're going to do about the inspection findings..
Later!
PS: as I glanced outside while proofreading this, I note that we got about 3-4 inches of snow since about 3pm. My beer making must have pleased the snow gods!
Labels: brew day, homebrew, Scottish Ale, St. Patrick's Day
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4 Comments:
Nice - nothing like honoring the presidents by brewing some beer! ;)
posted at 9:25 AM
I actually got the supplies for making beer for xmas. I've already made (and drank) a batch of honey wheat beer and currently have an "american pale ale" that is ready to be bottled (supposed to taste similar to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale). I agree bottling is the most annoying part. If I ever find a cheap fridge I will definitely turn it into a keg fridge. Oh, one last thing about disinfecting. I use a non-rinse oxygenating cleaner that doesn't seem to impart any bad flavors.
posted at 10:38 AM
Sounds like a lot of work to me. I'd almost rather shell out the cash for a kegerator and a just get kegs (yes, i realize keeping the lines clean is a lot of work too). That being said, a Scottish Ale sounds mighty good right now...I'm going to go get a Smithwick's.
posted at 7:12 PM
No hurricane in Houston yet this year, just sunny and 75 degrees.
posted at 5:14 PM
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