Check up, and pumpkins.

It's been a few days since we bottled the beer.  I checked it yesterday morning -- no sign of carbonation yet.  I know I shouldn't expect it this soon, but I figured since I'm keeping track of the batch like this, I should make a note of it.  Nothing's exploded, so I presume all is going well.

I got to thinking about future batches of beer.  My future sister-in-law has mentioned her love of Harvest Moon lately, and it got me to wondering: what are they using to impart the pumpkin flavor in there?

I suppose you could steep pumpkin in some boiling water and strain the hell out of it, and add the wort to it for primary fermentation.  My other thought was roasting pumpkin seeds and steeping those in a mesh bag during secondary, although that might give more of a nutty flavor than a pumpkin flavor.

Why I'm glad I have a 6.5 gal carboy.

A couple of my friends are brewing an ale, and have it in a five-gallon carboy.

Maybe 12 hours or so after they got the wort in the carboy, that sucker blew up.  I'd never seen an airlock full of krausen before; I suspect they also didn't strain it very well, since it seemed to be extremely green.

Seeing that makes me want to be even more meticulous with future batches.  It's kinda like hearing kids screaming in a restaurant, which becomes a quick-fire method of birth control.

Bottling Day!

The Mrs. and I got up this morning, and after reading the Sunday paper and watching some tv, we headed over to my apartment and bottled the beer.

I expected this to go fairly smooth, and it did -- though I did note a couple of issues.

1. The "spring tip" mechanism that comes with the True Brew kit SUCKS.  It's not the worst thing ever made, but due to the physical construction of it, it'll stick at an angle.  And when it does that, you had better take note and shake the bottling tube so it rights itself.  Otherwise, you have non-stop beer coming out, and you're going to have a mess.

2. Towels are essential.  

3. The grommet device that supposedly "seals" the spigot into the True Brew bucket?  It leaks.  At least mine did.  I didn't lose much beer, but still...see number 2.

4. With the kit, you have the siphoning tube (flexible), one straight (harder) tube that goes into the liquid you're siphoning, and the other straight tube with the spring tip (see number 1).  The flexible tubing does NOT WANT TO WORK with anything you're going to hook it up to.  I should have tested this before hand.  I didn't.  It sucks when you're trying to jam a piece of this tubing onto the bucket spigot and the spring-tip tube for easier bottling -- especially when...well, see number 3.

5. I have not yet learned how to completely clean a used carboy.  I can sanitize with the best of them.  However, I'm not sure how to go about cleaning the leftover crap from a carboy; I'm referring to the scum left over from the krausen.  

6. I can see why this process, overall, would be much easier in a large garage that had a sink in it.  And a floor drain.  And beer.

The Mrs. assisted with the bottling, which was great, given that it would have taken me that much longer to get everything done.  (She also went so far as to mop the kitchen floor for me post-bottling, which was huge.  It's the first time it's been mopped in probably a couple of months.)

Really, for the most part, it all went well, and we were done in about an hour and a half's time.  That's taking our time, too, so hurray for us.

Now all the bottles (42 regular size, and 4 Sierra Nevada ones that are my "testers" for the upcoming weeks) are residing in my bathtub (on the chance something goes awry and one explodes, fingers crossed). 

Next step: to finalize the recipe for my next batch, which will be brewed on Labor Day.

Changing one's mind.

I decided to wait on the bottling, given that the wort still had some bubbles on top.  I checked in again today -- not the gravity, but just the temperature/visuals.  Given that there were still some bubbles, and everything else looked good (it was reading 72 degrees), I'm waiting.  I may end up bottling it tomorrow morning -- if nothing else, I'm going to check the gravity and make a decision then.

If it ain't ready, it ain't ready.  As of tonight it'll be fourteen days of fermentation; I don't have a problem waiting a few more days.  Better safe than sorry.

Odd!

I checked up on Batch #1 today, and found it had a new bit of krausen going on!  Some bubbles along the top, with the airlock giving out the occasional CO2 bubble.  I found that rather interesting.  I took a gravity reading of 1.020 -- maybe tomorrow's not the time to bottle.  Gotta think about this one.

Further developments.

I checked the gravity of the wort yesterday: around 1.015.  This is exactly where it's supposed to be; I will be bottling it up tomorrow.

I'm debating picking up more equipment.  I found a large ultra-cheap strainer (a flat one, not a curved one like most use) at Big Lots for $3.50.  I'm thinking I might want a fermenting bucket (rather than a second carboy) so I can do dry-hopping easier for this next beer I'm contemplating.

Also, it seems that hop pellets are great to use, but for dry-hopping, I could be better off with actual hops themselves.  I may swing by another homebrew store in Rochester to see what they've got available.

***

Related but not: a friend of mine is hooking me up with a font that I need to start work on my labels/logos for my beer.  Once I get something drawn up via Photoshop, I'll post it.

Notes on the next batch.

So after doing some reading, it occurs to me that I picked some good hops out...for the aroma and dry-hopping (finishing).  My bittering hops should be something unusual, mainly because I do not want to go with something that everyone else has done.

This means I've got to buy bittering hops, as well as the malt extract and yeast.  It's going to be another ale, so I'm thinking of going with Munton liquid yeast, which I'm pretty sure is what BOTW carries.

I haven't decided on the malt yet.  This will require more research.

Checking the gravity.

I snagged some beercaps over at Beers of the World and then headed to my place to check the gravity of the wort.  It's currently around 1.015, which is where it should be.  If all goes well (meaning I'd have to check it tomorrow and/or Wednesday), I'll be bottling it on Thursday.

I also picked up some Munton's CarbTabs, which you use in place of priming sugar for bottling.  I've never used them before, but Charlie Papazian's "Joy of Homebrewing" says that you'll get a better beer by decreasing your sugar.  I've got to do more research before I get into messing with them, though.  I can always use them for a later batch.

I ALSO (since they were inexpensive) picked up two ounce-big packets of hop pellets: Willamettes and Styrians.  I'd like my next beer to be an original recipe; not that I think I'm that good at homebrewing already (I'm not), but I look at it as an experiment to get the hang of what to do/what not to do.  I have to snag malt, but I'm not going to worry about that yet.  I'm shooting for a brew date of Labor Day Weekend -- I've also gotta snag a bucket for secondary fermentation.

First Batch!

For my own personal records:

8.8.08: Brewed the first batch -- an IPA made from a True Brew Maestro kit.  Kept the oak chips out.  Didn't take the original gravity.

8.10.08: Checked the gravity and it was at 1.015.  Turns out (in hindsight) that I was too worried, and should have also removed more of the air bubbles in order to get a better reading.

8.15.08: Checked the gravity today -- 1.020.  Shooting for 1.015 before I bottle the beer and let it continue fermenting.  Tasted it -- despite the fact that it was flat and lacking the priming sugar it's going to get later on, it didn't taste all that bad.  I'm on track.