Porter on its way.

We brewed a robust porter today in the style of Anchor Brewing Co. of San Francisco, CA. Here's what's in all 6gal of it:

Mash (30min @ 150F):
0.16lb Roasted Barley
0.6lb Crystal 120 Malt
0.6lb Crystal 90 Malt
0.6lb Dextrine malt
1.2lb Chocolate Malt
1.2lb Carafa I Special Malt

Boil (60min):
6.0lb Briess Sparkling Amber dry malt extract
0.9oz Perle hop pellets
0.6oz Cascade hop pellets

Yeast:
White Labs California Ale (WLP 001)

OG: 1.054-1.056

Using a blow-off hose during the first few days of primary fermentation this time.

Resurrection Ale and Two Left Boots IPA

P.S. The Resurrection Ale turned out stupendous. Aging a few weeks in the bottle built up the body tremendously. We did revisit the recipe in May, this time using more acidic hops for the boil (1.5oz Columbus pellets), aroma (Sovereign pellets, 0.5oz) and dry hop (2oz. whole-leaf Willamette) and adding 1/2lb dextrine malt to the mash to increase body and head retention. This IPA turned out to be a real winner... That's Andrew holding up 2 samples of 2 Left Boots while we were brewing yesterday. Andrew named the beer in honor of me arriving in Maine to do field work after a 3 hour drive and realizing I had brought 2 Left Boots... ay yay yay. :)

We know it's been a while.

We've finally returned after a lengthy summer break from brewing, and brewed up a batch of steam beer yesterday. Boy did we miss the smell of malty, hoppy goodness coming from the kitchen! For this latest brew we adapted the recipe for "the sun has left us on time steam beer" from Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing. A steam beer is brewed with lager yeast at ale fermentation temperatures. Guessing that is because lagers are traditionally fermented at about 50-55F, while ales enjoy temperatures more around 60-70F. Anyway, here's what we included so far:

Mash: 0.5lb. crystal 60 malt, 160F for 30 min.
Boil: 6lbs. dry briess amber malt extract, 1.5oz. Perle hop pellets, 60 min.
Aroma: 0.5oz. Cascade hope pellets, 2 min.
Yeast: Saflager S-23 lager yeast.

We plan to prime with corn sugar (5oz) before bottling in a few weeks. In the meantime we will be thinking of a name for this brew...

Up Wit the Sun has been bottled!

Our "Up Wit the Sun" orange blossom witbier has been bottled... can't wait to try it! With a final gravity of 1.010, this beer packs our biggest punch yet(~5.6% alcohol by vol). Can't wait to test one out next week!


We also transferred our most recent brew to the secondary fermenter last night. Took a few sips of it, and damn it's bitter!!! Also took a gravity reading (1.013). We'll dry hop it with some whole Willamette hops in a week or so to add a nice floral nose... yum.

Return of the Resurrection?

Transferred our "Up Wit the Sun" to the secondary fermenter tonight when we got back from the homebrew store with supplies to resurrect our Resurrection Ale... guess it's the second coming... More tomorrow!

Resurrection Ale has been bottled.

We bottled the Resurrection Ale last night. It's kind of light in flavor, but the hops are super aromatic and delicious. And, with a FG of 1.014 (OG=1.044), this pale ale is not light in "kick" (~3.9%ABV).

Up Wit the Sun

We've decided on a name for our new brew: Up Wit the Sun

Brewing this very instant!

We're brewing creatively right now... a Belgian witbier with orange blossom honey, cara cara orange zest, and coriander. It doesn't have a name yet, but here's the recipe:

"Mash" Ingredients: 0.25 lbs flaked oats

Boil Ingredients: 4 lbs. Briess pilsen light dry malt extract, 1 lb. Briess bavarian wheat dry extract (60% wheat, 40% barley), 0.5 lbs McClure's Orange Blossom Honey, 0.8 oz. Hallertau hop pellets

Flavor Ingredien

ts: 0.8 oz. Styrian Goldings hop pellets, 0.25 lbs. McClure's Orange Blossom Honey, 1/2 cara cara orange peel (zest) and juice, 0.3-0.4 oz. crushed coriander

Aroma Ingredients: 0.8 oz. Hallertau hop pellets, 0.25 lbs. McClure's Orange Blossom Honey, 1/2 cara cara orange peel (zest) and juice, 0.3-0.4 oz. crushed coriander

Yeast: White Labs Belgian Wit Ale (WL400)
Priming Sugar: 5 oz corn sugar

Procedure:

Steep mash ingredients in about 1 gal. H2O @ 145-165F. Add about 2 gal H2O and boil ingredients, then boil for 1 hour, stirring frequently. The extracts from the oats will stick to the bottom without frequent stirring. Add Flavor ingredients then boil an additional 15 min. Add aroma ingredients, boil 3 minutes. Bring to 5 gal. in primary fermenter, cool to 78F and pitch yeast! OG =1.053

Resurrection Ale Recipe

Five gallons brewed in the fashion of "Tits Up in the Mud Pale Ale" from Papazian's The Homebrewer's Companion.

Mash Ingredients: 0.35 lbs. Caramel malt (40L)

Boil Ingredients: 6 lbs. Briess golden light malt extract, 1.5 oz. Kent Goldings hop pellets, 1 tbl. gypsum

Flavor Ingredients: 0.5 oz. Styrian Goldings hop pellets

Aroma Ingredients: 0.5 oz Kent Goldings hop pellets

Dry Hop Ingredients: 1.25 oz. Cascade hop pellets

Yeast: White Labs Pacific Ale Yeast (WLP041)

Priming Sugar: 0.25 lb corn sugar

Procedure:

Mash: Steep crushed malt in 2gal H2O at 150F for 30min.

Boil: Add "Boil Ingredients" and boil for 45 min.

Flavor: Add "Flavor Ingredients" and boil an additional 15 minutes.

Aroma: Turn off heat, add "Aroma Ingredients" and steep for 2-3min.

Cool wort and primary ferment. We transferred to secondary fermenter after 11 days, then added the "Dry Hop Ingredients" after 3 days. Allowed to secondary ferment with dry hops for an additional 12 days then bottled using 0.25lb corn sugar for priming. OG =1.044

Resurrection Ale has moved to Phase II

The Resurrection Ale made it into the secondary fermenter last night. We think the yeast still had some activity left, but transferred it anyway. Has to potential to be a deliciously fruity and floral summer brew! :P yum!

Resurrection Ale

and on the 7th day we hopped again...

Currently in the primary fermenter, we brewed this pale ale over Easter weekend and are patiently awaiting the settling of the yeast so that we can transfer it to the secondary. More details and the recipe coming soon... :)

Goat Scrotum Status...

Deeeelicious! After bubbling in bottles for 2 weeks, we cracked open our first goat scrotum porter. It was smooth and sweet, and the ginger had really mellowed since we tasted it during bottling. It's best after being refrigerated for a few hours, then allowed to warm up for a few minutes at room temp before drinking. Marie even liked it, and she said she would never try something with the words "goat" and "scrotum" in it!

Bottling Goat Scroti

We bottled the goat scrotum porter last night. Bottling beer is fun... the bottles fill up really fast when you're not paying attention and then your butt is wet and there's porter all over the floor. whoops. Anyway, a few weeks and it should be nice and bubbly and ready to drink!

3-legged Goat Scrotum Ale

A lovely (hopefully) porter awaiting us in the primary fermenter as we speak. We brewed it yesterday, and the yeast are delighted. The recipe is modified from Charlie Papazian's "The Joy of Homebrewing."

Ingredients:

Mash:

1 lb Crystal malt (90L)

4oz roasted barley

4oz black patent malt

Boil:

5lbs Munton's plaind dark malt extract

1.5oz Perle hops (pellets)
60z unsweetened baker's chocolate
1/8 cup grated frsh ginger root
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 lb corn sugar
1 cup blackstrap molasses
1 oz. dried licorice root

Aroma:

0.5 oz Willamette hops (pellets)

Yeast: White Labs WLP002 English Ale

Priming: 3/4 cup corn sugar

Procedure: to be continued...