Okay, so it's been a while...

...but there hasn't been that much to report.

The beer that was brewed on Sept. 28th has finally been bottled!  Today was my first day off (from one of my jobs) in a bit, where I could take the time to get it done.  I didn't end up with as much beer as the first batch, since there was a lot of sediment in the bottom of the carboy that I tried to avoid.

This beer is much darker in color (read that: copper) although I would not call it a "copper ale" by any means.  I figure I'll give it a couple of weeks before I move it to the fridge.

This is my last beer in my current apartment, and given that my fiance's place is a little too nice to make a royal mess out of with a brewing, I probably won't be brewing again until at least May, when we've moved into our new place.  So I wouldn't count on too many updates from me until that time.

Brewing Day!

Today was the official brew day, as planned.  Before we get into that, let's get into more beer -- my first batch.

We tried it again, and it hadn't changed a whole lot from the last tasting.  More malt than hops; still more sourness from the yeast.  Not a bad ale, but not an IPA.  My sister was not a big fan, but the fiance and my friend Matt seemed to like it.  I'll let it sit for a while and see how it goes in another couple of weeks.

The brewing.  Easier than last time, but not without slight complications.

I started by steeping one pound of crushed crystal malt for about half an hour in 2.5 gallons of water.  This gave the wort a nice malty smell, and once I kept the water to just under a boil, I added six pounds of Munton's Light DME.  This boiled over (hurray!  first time!) and then I let it go for about 45 minutes or so.

I added two ounces of Super Styrians at the beginning of a 60-minute countdown.  Hurray, another boilover.  This was to be the last one, thank god.

I then added one ounce of Willamettes at the 30 minute point, and one ounce of Centennials at the 10 minute point.

At the final three to five minutes, I added two good pinches of Irish Moss, and then added a half-cup of honey along with 32 ounces of Grade A maple syrup.

I was going to use liquid yeast once I cooled down the wort and added it to the carboy.  I failed to read the directions on the back of the smack pack which said to make a culture three hours in advance.  Instead, I grabbed a packet of Munton's Gold dry yeast which had been in the fridge, activated that in some hot water, and added it to the carboy.

The wort now sits in my sink.  I figure that if there's any blowover, it can go right into the sink and make cleanup slightly easier.

Pictures to come tomorrow.  It's late and I didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm hitting the sack.

The recipe for next Sunday.

September 28th is brewing day!  It should be a good day -- I'm off from work (as far as I know), it'll be the beginning of Autumn, and I've got a couple of friends coming over to brew.

The plan I've got for the ale I'm making:

Dissolve 6# of DME in 2 gal water and bring to a boil for 45 min.

Steep 1# crushed crystal, 30 min, bring to boil

Add Super Styrians, 1 oz, with 45 min left to go in boil

Willamettes, 1 oz, 20 min left

Centennials, 1 oz, 10 min left

Now here's where it gets interesting -- I'm thinking about adding, with 3-5 min remaining in the boil, 3 cups of maple syrup and a little honey.  That'll get strained into the carboy which has 3 gal of cold water.

I think this'll work.  I need to do more fine-tuning between now and next Sunday.

Three weeks in the bottle.

It sounds like a good album title.  Or song title.

Nevertheless, my beer has been bottled for three weeks.  Given that it's now September 16th, and it was brewed on August 8th, that's not a bad lifespan thus far.

I took a six-pack of it over to my job this morning, so a couple of co-workers could try it out.  Brendan had tried it when I'd first brought a couple of bottles over, and he instantly noticed a change in the flavor from back then.  Better, richer, "wheatier" (as he put it).  I cracked one open and noticed it myself.  Was that wheat I tasted?

I brought in the owner of the restaurant, Joe, who knows his beer pretty well.  His was an opinion I wanted.

He sampled it, and made the following observations (not verbatim):

• it had good body to it,
• it wasn't overly bitter,
• he didn't think it "wheaty" but definitely tasted malt,
• he wouldn't call it an IPA because it's too dark (but he would call it a pale ale)
• it was hoppy to his liking, but not insanely hoppy.

He suggested that next time I brew, I go easier on the crushed malt steeping at the beginning of the process.  That would alleviate some of the malt flavor (which I'd like to lessen, so that was good advice).  

It was beer well received by both co-workers, so I was happy.  I don't intend on drinking any more of it until the 28th, when I brew again.  I still have to get the DME and a nylon bag for steeping the crushed malt, but aside from that, it's all systems go.

Sixteen days in the bottle.

That's the deal.  My beer has been bottled for sixteen days now (seventeen if you're counting the date of this post) and I have put it in the fridge.  It was residing in my bathtub at my apartment, but I needed to take a shower, and you can obviously see why it needed to be moved.

I figure with a little more time, it'll be even better, so I don't intend on drinking it anytime soon.  The testers have already been drunk.  I will try cracking open another one after this weekend.

It is definitely hard to not drink your own homemade beer.

Adding to the recipe.

Went out on Saturday afternoon and picked up an ounce of Centennial hop pellets, as well as a pound of Crushed Crystal malt.  I'll have a more specific version of my recipe later this week, once I get the chance to sit down and calculate everything out.

We sampled the rest of my "sample bottles" of the first batch at my workplace yesterday.  Comments ranged from "smooth" to "not super hoppy" but everyone seemed to dig it.  One co-worker admitted that he could "drink this all afternoon."  Another thought that it almost seemed to be close to a sour ale (like in the vein of Magic Hat's 'Odd Notion') and we chalked that up to the yeast I used.

I'm not going to touch the other bottles for at least another week or so, if only to see how much better it gets.  It was brought to my attention that I actually underfilled the bottles.

Working on the recipe for the next batch.

More for my use than yours; this is the rough outline (not yet complete) for my next batch o' brew.

1# Crystal Malt 10

9# Amber DME

1oz Super Styrians @ 60 min boil

1oz Super Styrians @ 60 min boil

1oz Bramling Cross @ 20 min boil

1oz Willamette @ 10 min boil

Wyeast 1098 British Ale Yeast

I haven't determined what my finishing hops are going to be yet.  I do know that I need to buy the DME still, as well as said finishing hops, some nylon bags, and maybe a couple of decent beer mugs.  :)

I had originally shot for a Labor Day brew date on this, which didn't happen due to timing and funds.  Having planned it in advance, I'm having a "Bills and Brews" party on September 28th, where I'm brewing this beer and showing the Bills/St. Louis game.