The Old Man Lived in Wooley Swamp

My next batch of beer, a clone of Bell's Two-Hearted IPA, is done! The brewday went pretty well, aside from a narrowly-avoided boilover and the fact that I forgot to get ice to cool the wort down before I started. I had to run to the gas station across the road mid-boil to get two bags. No problems, though! In a few weeks, I'll transfer this beer to secondary, and add another oz. of hops to make it extra hoppy. This technique is called "dry hopping." I've never done it before, but I look forward to seeing how it turns out!

This really isn't what I wanted to talk about, though. I wanted to talk a little about my swamp cooler (hence the terrible Charlie Daniels reference in the title and video). I've tried a swamp cooler before with less-than-stellar results. But I think I've worked out all the kinks now. If I have, then this will be the key to getting great homebrew. So, what is a swamp cooler?

Basically, a swamp cooler is a tub of water in which you put the carboy while the beer is fermenting. Then, you can adjust the temperature of the water using ice. If it's really hot, you can take a t-shirt and drape it over the carboy so that the water is wicked up and evaporates, cooling it even more.

So, here's a picture of my carboy bubbling away in a swamp cooler.

As you can see, this fermentation is in full swing. The bottle in the back is what I'm using to cool it. Basically it's a two-liter coke bottle filled with water. I then froze it along with two other bottles so I can swap them out and keep the temperature low enough for the yeast to do its job without producing bad off flavors.

So far this system has been working. As you can see from this picture, the temperature of the carboy has been holding at a nice 68 degrees.

After I took this picture, I replaced the bottle, and the temperature went down another degree or so, but that's fine. It's better for it to be a little on the cold side anyway. For a little perspective, this yeast's optimal temperature is 60-72 with 66-68 really being the best. I've been fermenting close to (or past) the 72 mark. However, with the swamp cooler, I can keep it in that 66-68 range, making much better beer.

However, I do need to make sure I stay on top of this. I had a problem early on in the fermentation when the water got TOO cold. The carboy's temperature got down to about 56 and it stopped fermenting. Temperatures this low cause the yeast to go dormant. It's not that bad, and since it was so early in the stages of fermentation, it shouldn't hurt it. I just warmed it back up a little bit, and it took off like a rocket (as you can see in the pictures above).

Now I just have to keep rotating those bottles, maintaining a good temperature while it ferments. I'll let you know if I have any other hiccups. Also, I'll write another post going more in-depth about this style and the beer I'm cloning! Until then!

Beers of Christmas Present

It's been a couple of days since I wrote a post about my brewing, and since I have a little bit of free time, I thought I'd give a quick update on the goings on of Misdemeanor Brewing.

I bottled the Smoked Amber Ale last week, so that's carbing up in the closet now. It tasted pretty good. It fermented a little hotter than it should have (a problem I always seem to have), so there are some off flavors, but overall it's pretty good! Since I brewed it for Woodfest, I have declared that it henceforth shall be known as Woodfest Ale. It generally takes about two weeks to carbonate in the bottle, so it will be ready for Woodfest whether Woodfest is ready for it or not!

So, now that the Woodfest Ale is gradually building up the bubbles, I've started on my next beer. This will be an IPA that's a clone of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. This one should be good! I'm a big fan of Two-Hearted, and I can't wait to see how this stacks up. Since the fridge still has some work to go and I'm probably just going to use it for kegging anyway, I'm going to try my hand at a swamp cooler again. I think I know what I can do to make this one better, so I should be able to control the temperature of the fermenting beer more accurately, thus minimizing the off flavors. Right now I have a yeast starter going for that, and I should be ready to brew tomorrow or Thursday.

Other than this, the other exciting thing about my brewing right now is that I am joining a local brew club. This club, called CHAOS, seems really cool. They have a brew house not too far from here on the Ell, with lots of cool stuff going on. They just got a bunch of 53 Gal barrels that they are going to fill up. So, I plan on getting a stake in that, giving me about 5 gallons of barrel-aged beer. It's really nice to interact with other homebrewers in real life, and I can tell I'm going to learn a lot from these more experienced brewers!

Well, that's about all for the update on my brewing. I'll probably post a more in-depth description of the Two-Hearted clone once I get that going. Until then!

Sending SMOKE Signals

Once again I find myself writing a blog while drinking flat, room-temperature beer out of a graduated cylinder, and in no way is that sad! I just took another sample of the Smoked Amber Ale to see how the gravity was looking and to give it a quick taste. I was so happy that I just had to give an update!

First off, the beer tastes amazing. Definitely still pretty smokey, but it's not nearly as pronounced as it was before. As I've said multiple times, I'm sure this won't be everyone's favorite. I actually met another homebrewer last night at the Auburn Alumni bar here in Chicago, and even he said that he's not a fan of smoked beers. Oh well, more beer for me! From my perspective, though, I'm still happy because this beer did exactly what I wanted it to, and I can only see it getting better in the next few weeks.

The other reason I'm so happy (and the reason this sample is in a graduated cylinder) is that I took a gravity reading and it came down more! It's still not where I was hoping it would get to originally, but considering the state of this beer a week ago, I'll take it. It came down to 1.015 from 1.018, a change of .003. While that may seem relatively insignificant, it means that this beer has come up from 3.67% ABV to 4.06% ABV (again, remember that Bud Light is 4.2%). Breaking the 4% threshold is more than I thought this beer would come to, and I'm pleased that it has.

So, how does the future of this beer look now? Much better. In a week I'll bottle it, then two weeks later it will be ready for consumption! I expect the smokey flavor to mellow out even more over the next few weeks, so don't be too freaked out by that. I'm really happy because this beer will most definitely be ready for Woodfest VI, the occasion that this beer was brewed for. Perhaps in another post I'll elaborate on exactly what Woodfest is, but for now all you need to know is that it's a bonfire. I don't know if I'm going to do a label for this one, but if I do, I'll let you know.

Now, I'm going to go back to my graduated cylinder! Until next time!

Irish Red or Amber Ale?

So, the next page of Misdemeanor Brewing is to develop a few "House Recipes." The two styles that I've chosen to work on are Irish Red Ales and IPA's. The first because this style was very popular (even Mrs. Misdemeanor liked it!), and IPA's because it's a more widely defined style, giving me more leeway to experiment. Besides, IPA's are just so tasty!

So, in preparation for this, I've been doing some research into recipes from which I can work. In the process, I got a little confused. I know what makes IPA's IPA's - light to medium color, hoppy taste and aroma, strong in ABV - but Irish Red to me has always been a little harder to pin down. What's the difference between an Irish Red and an Amber Ale? Turns out, not a lot. So, I thought I'd do a little post about what I found.

Here is the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) style description for the Irish Red. (No, you don't have to read it all, since I'll be explaining it in a bit.)

Aroma: Low to moderate malt aroma, generally caramel-like but occasionally toasty or toffee-like in nature. May have a light buttery character (although this is not required). Hop aroma is low to none (usually not present). Quite clean. Appearance: Amber to deep reddish copper color (most examples have a deep reddish hue). Clear. Low off-white to tan colored head.

Flavor: Moderate caramel malt flavor and sweetness, occasionally with a buttered toast or toffee-like quality. Finishes with a light taste of roasted grain, which lends a characteristic dryness to the finish. Generally no flavor hops, although some examples may have a light English hop flavor. Medium-low hop bitterness, although light use of roasted grains may increase the perception of bitterness to the medium range. Medium-dry to dry finish. Clean and smooth (lager versions can be very smooth). No esters.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light to medium body, although examples containing low levels of diacetyl may have a slightly slick mouthfeel. Moderate carbonation. Smooth. Moderately attenuated (more so than Scottish ales). May have a slight alcohol warmth in stronger versions.

Overall Impression: An easy-drinking pint. Malt-focused with an initial sweetness and a roasted dryness in the finish. Comments: Sometimes brewed as a lager (if so, generally will not exhibit a diacetyl character). When served too cold, the roasted character and bitterness may seem more elevated. Ingredients: May contain some adjuncts (corn, rice, or sugar), although excessive adjunct use will harm the character of the beer. Generally has a bit of roasted barley to provide reddish color and dry roasted finish. UK/Irish malts, hops, yeast.

Vital Statistics:
IBUs: 17 – 28
SRM: 9 – 18
OG: 1.044 - 1.060
FG: 1.010 - 1.014
ABV: 4.0 - 6.0%

And here's the description for the American Amber Ale. (Same as above.)

Aroma: Low to moderate hop aroma from dry hopping or late kettle additions of American hop varieties. A citrusy hop character is common, but not required. Moderately low to moderately high maltiness balances and sometimes masks the hop presentation, and usually shows a moderate caramel character. Esters vary from moderate to none. No diacetyl.

Appearance: Amber to coppery brown in color. Moderately large off-white head with good retention. Generally quite clear, although dry-hopped versions may be slightly hazy.

Flavor: Moderate to high hop flavor from American hop varieties, which often but not always has a citrusy quality. Malt flavors are moderate to strong, and usually show an initial malty sweetness followed by a moderate caramel flavor (and sometimes other character malts in lesser amounts). Malt and hop bitterness are usually balanced and mutually supportive. Fruity esters can be moderate to none. Caramel sweetness and hop flavor/bitterness can linger somewhat into the medium to full finish. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full body. Carbonation moderate to high. Overall smooth finish without astringency often associated with high hopping rates. Stronger versions may have a slight alcohol warmth.

Overall Impression: Like an American pale ale with more body, more caramel richness, and a balance more towards malt than hops (although hop rates can be significant).

History: Known simply as Red Ales in some regions, these beers were popularized in the hop-loving Northern California and the Pacific Northwest areas before spreading nationwide.

Comments: Can overlap in color with American pale ales. However, American amber ales differ from American pale ales not only by being usually darker in color, but also by having more caramel flavor, more body, and usually being balanced more evenly between malt and bitterness. Should not have a strong chocolate or roast character that might suggest an American brown ale (although small amounts are OK). Ingredients: Pale ale malt, typically American two-row. Medium to dark crystal malts. May also contain specialty grains which add additional character and uniqueness. American hops, often with citrusy flavors, are common but others may also be used. Water can vary in sulfate and carbonate content.

Vital Statistics
IBUs: 25 - 40
SRM: 10 - 17
OG: 1.045 - 1.060
FG: 1.010 - 1.015
ABV: 4.5 - 6.2%

So, what all does this mean? If you look at the "Vital Statistics," you can see that the two are very similar. The main difference is in the IBU's. What is an IBU, you ask? Well, it stands for International Bittering Units, but basically it's a measure of the bitterness in the beer. So, Amber Ales use more hops. The other difference you can see in the description is the type of malts and hops used in the two. For the Irish Red, understandably, one would use more English malts and hops with a tendency to use toasted malts. The Amber Ales use more American malts and hops.

Will I stick with the Irish Red style in my experimenting? Probably not exclusively. Most likely, I will blur the line between the two styles, but we'll see. At least for now, I'll try to stay as close to style as I can.

I know probably no one cares about all of this, but I hope you have learned a little bit from this. I know I have! Anyway, until next time!

Smokey the Beer

Over the past few days the active fermentation of the beer has really slowed, and today it appeared as if it had stopped completely. So, I thought now would be a good time to check the ABV and give it a little taste!

First I checked the ABV using my hydrometer. The original gravity of the beer was about 1.046. Today the gravity is down to 1.018. If we plug this into our handy little formula, ABV = (OG - FG) * 131, this brings our ABV to a WHOPPING 3.67. This is not exactly what I was hoping for. Keep in mind, Bud Light has about 4.2% ABV.

To be fair, I don't really care a whole lot about the ABV. If you recall, one of my favorite beers I made was The Innkeeper which only weighed in at about 3.8%. Still, I would really like for this beer to get above that mark. So, I roused the yeast a bit to see if it can do a little bit more for me. Hopefully I can get over that 3.8% mark. If not, I'll still drink it, which brings me to my next point: How does it taste?

Well, with any tasting of fresh, flat, warm beer, you don't really know how the finished product is going to taste. You can only guess. And if I had to guess, like REALLY guess, I'm going to say this is going to be freaking smokey. When I tasted the unfermented wort, I didn't think that the smoke was as pronounced as I wanted it. Now I think it might be TOO pronounced. I tasted this thing about a half an hour ago, and my mouth still tastes like smoke. And I didn't take a huge gulp of it either, it was a tiny sip. Seriously, when I first tasted it I said out loud, "DAMN that is smokey!"

I think once it gets carbonated and ages a bit, the smoke will mellow out. If it mellows just a little bit, it will be perfect for me! That being said, I know it's not going to be everyone's favorite. Just like some people don't like IPA's and some people don't like Stouts, a lot of people aren't going to like smoked beers. They just aren't. So, if you have one of these and don't like it, don't complain! I warned you!

Anyway, the beer is sitting again, hopefully fermenting a little bit more. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks and see how it goes from there. I promise to keep you updated! Also, soon I will talk a little more about my fermentation chamber project. It's starting to come along, and I hope to have it finished before the new year! If you haven't already, make sure you subscribe to my new twitter! It's @MisdemeanorBrew. I posted some pictures of the fridge project on there already, and I'm sure I'll continue to post as I go along. If you don't have twitter, no big. You'll just have to wait a little longer! I hope you look forward to my next post as much as I do!

Back to Basics (and THE FUTURE)

Since I started back, I've been thinking a lot about the future of Misdemeanor Brewing. The big question that should probably never be fully answered is "What can I do to make my beer better?" Well, I've come up with a couple of different things that I plan on doing that should dramatically improve the quality of my final product.

If you've read my blog from the beginning, you know that one of the biggest problems that has plagued my beer from the beginning is temperature control. I've tried several methods such as a swamp cooler, but so far nothing has been able to reliably keep the fermentation temperature low. So, what am I to do? The answer: a fermentation chamber.

Lauren and I happen to have a spare mini fridge that is just sitting in the kitchen taking up room. With a few modifications, I should be able to fit an entire carboy in the fridge. Then, with the addition of a digital temperature controller, I will be able to get and keep the temperature of the fermenting beer low enough to keep from having any off flavors. Also, the ability to control the temperature will also open up an entirely new avenue of brewing for me: lagers! Until now I haven't been able to do a lager, but now I can try several new styles of beer. I'm really excited about this!

Aside from temperature control, I have decided to try to perfect one style of beer. Until now, I have not brewed the same style of beer twice. I will still be experimenting with different styles, just not as frequently. The point of this is to try to perfect my brewing techniques as well as creating a standard "House Recipe." So, what beer should I try to perfect?

I've been trying to come up with my favorite beer that I've brewed since beginning this as well as finding others' favorite. It seems like the most well received (and one of my favorite) beers that I brewed was the Irish Red Ale. Yes, the very first beer I brewed. So, after my next beer, which I have decided will be my first IPA, I will be coming back to the Irish Red. While some people may think I'm limiting myself, thus making my brewing WAY less interesting for them, I disagree. This gives me a level of creativity that I haven't really had from my other beers. By starting with a base recipe and tweaking it, I can find just exactly what I like. And don't think that these will all be minor tweaks. Who knows. Perhaps a an Oak Aged Cranberry Red Ale will pop up after a while (though I don't know if that combination would really work)!

Like I said, don't think that just because I'm going to be focusing on improving one style I will JUST be brewing that style. Who wants to be limited to one style?! Certainly not me! Anyway, keep looking back here to find out just how things are going with my current beer. I'll post again soon with an update!

Smooooooke

So, I finally managed to get back to brewing yesterday! For my first time back as well as my first time doing a partial mash, it went fairly well. However, I don't have super high hopes for this beer. But I'll get into that later. First, I'll talk a little about the brewday.

This brewday just illustrated how resourceful you have to be when brewing. First, I had to take stock of my brewing equipment. Since the move, I haven't really looked at it, and it seems there are a few things missing. I managed to order some of the replacements when I got my ingredients, but I missed a few things. So, I had to get some new tubing for the auto-siphon and had to figure out something for a beer thief. A quick trip to Home Depot took care of the tubing and a turkey baster from Target worked out for the beer thief. The last little piece of equipment I needed was a nylon mesh bag. This was a little trickier and required me going into the city to a brew shop.

After I got all of the equipment in order, I started the brewday. I have to say, they weren't lying when they said the malt was smokey. When I first started the mashing process, our entire apartment smelled like a campfire. As I remarked on twitter, "What's more manly than beer and the smell of a campfire?" Unbeknownst to me, however, the pilot light had gone off in my oven, so when I put my kettle in, it didn't maintain the temperature that I wanted it to. What does that mean? It didn't get great extraction of sugars from the grain. So, my gravity wasn't as high as it should have been, and it's likely it won't have as much of that smokey flavor that I was looking for.

This is the first reason I don't have super high hopes for this beer. The other happened after I pitched the yeast. In the past few hours the active fermentation has begun, but not near as vigorously as I had hoped. Also, it's fermenting a little hot, meaning it will probably produce some off flavors.

The only thing I can do at this point is just wait and see how it turns out. I'm hoping that smokey flavor really stands out and that it doesn't get too phenolic. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks!

Until then, "ARE YA SMOKIN' YET?!"

The Return of Misdemeanor Brewing!

So, it's been a long time since I posted anything. In that time a lot has happened. I've gotten married, moved to Illinois, and started grad school. All of those things have kept me from posting on here or even brewing, for that matter. All of that is about to change though, as I will be making my triumphant return to brewing tomorrow!

The last beer I brewed, The Black Tie Affair, ended up not working out quite right. It got to the gravity I wanted, tasted pretty good, but did not carbonate correctly. I think this is because of the super high gravity. That high of an alcohol content can effectively kill the yeast, and since I was naturally carbonating (i.e., using the dormant yeast in the beer) the sugar was never converted to CO2. Oh well. So much for that. ON TO THE NEXT BEER!

So, the next beer I'm brewing is one that I haven't done before. It's a Smoked Amber Ale. What does this mean? A portion of the malt in the beer was smoked with cherrywood, giving it a distinct smokey flavor. I got the recipe kit from Northern Brewer yesterday, and I must say, that malt smells like a campfire. Hopefully it won't be TOO smokey, but even if it is, it can be used for cooking!

This is also a new way to brew for me. This recipe needs something called a partial-mash. This is basically a cross between extract brewing (what I have been doing up until now) and all-grain brewing (something I've never done). As far as I can tell, it isn't all that different, so we'll see how it ends up.

I'm really looking forward to this brewday as it's one I've been planning since last year. The goal is to have this beer ready and drinkable for our annual pre-Christmas bonfire, Woodfest! This year will be Woodfest VI, and I wanted to brew a beer for it. That's why I'm brewing a smoked beer (since a bonfire naturally leaves everyone smelling super smokey). If it doesn't work out or isn't ready by then, so be it. But that's my hope!

Anyway, I'll probably post again in the next day or two to tell how everything went. Until then, have a beer on me!

Chim-Chim-Cheree!

So, this past weekend was a very special one for me. It was the wedding of two of my best friends, Doran Smith and Nicolle Key (now Nicolle Smith). These two friends have been very close to me all through high school and college. So, their wedding was a very happy occasion to me. That's why I decided to brew them a beer. This beer was my Super-Secret-Surprise Beer!

As you can see on the left, I decided to name this beer The Chimney Sweep. While this may at first glance be a reference to some Mary Poppins flashback / euphemism for a bong, it is actually something much sweeter. I didn't include the back label, but this is what it read:

In Austria it is considered good luck to see a Chimney Sweep on your wedding day. In fact, it is such good luck that some women hire one to come to their wedding. Since Chimney Sweeps are hard to come by in Alabama, I thought I would give you one that you could have at your wedding... but with less soot!

The idea is the same as that of my wedding beer, the Black Tie Affair (which I will get to in a minute). Basically, it's a beer that they could have at their wedding, save, and enjoy on their first anniversary.

While this beer turned out to be a success (several were enjoyed at the reception), it was by no means my favorite beer. It was brewed from a Belgian Dubbel kit, but it was a bit off category. Basically, it was too sweet for a Dubbel. This could be due to a few reasons. One: It fermented too warm. Two: I over pitched the yeast. Three: I didn't get the wort to boil fast enough. Three: I UNDER pitched the yeast. Four: It just needs more time to age.

As of right now, I'm going to say it's reason four, though I suspect it is probably one of the other three. Now, that's not to say it's not drinkable. In fact, it is actually pretty enjoyable. However, it can be a bit cloying, and drinking more than one at this point is probably not my preferred method of imbibing. That said, we'll see how it does over the next year. It very well may mellow a bit and become freakin awesome! We'll just have to see!

As for the Black Tie Affair, I added the vanilla bean to it today. Basically I cut it open, scraped out the vanilla goodness, and dropped the all of it into the fermentor, husk and all. In about two weeks, I'll brew/add the espresso and a day later bottle! None of this is really news, but it's just an update to the state of the beer. Also, I'm working on a possible label for this beer.

For people who have wanted me to put labels on all of my beers (such as my sister), this last beer justified my decision to just mark the tops on most beers. Making labels is not fun. It's easy when you have more than one person to help cut out and apply the labels, but just like bottling, it can be a bit tedious if you have to do it yourself. Not to mention, label stock can get expensive quickly. So, for now, as I had decided earlier, labels will be relegated only to the "special" beers.

This weekend I was going to try to brew my Strawberry Blonde, but due to an oversight of mine, I never ordered the yeast for it! So, I'm going to order that today and brew it as soon as possible. If I don't get that in the next week, then it will have to wait until after the move, at which point it may have to become some other sort of beer due to the waning strawberry season. We'll see.

Anyway, that's all for now. Everyone enjoy their light summer beers! If you want a recommendation for something that is perfect for these crazy Alabama temps, I'd try the Gaffel Kölsch (or any other Kölsch for that matter). It's cool, crisp, and German. Not to mention it's delicious! If you're in Auburn, you can find it at Gus's Fine Wine and Beer. If you're somewhere else, go to any good beer shop and you should be able to find it! Until next time!

The Longest Time

Wow. It's been a while since I posted. I apologize for not giving you your homebrew fix in a while. Normally, I would talk about how brewing is a slow process and often not a lot happens over a long period of time, but in this case, I've just been too busy to talk about the MANY things that I have done since I last posted. So, I'll do my best to get you up to speed on what's been going on.

My Super-Secret-Surprise beer is done! I will be bottling it tomorrow and it will be ready in two weeks... just in time for the event for which it was intended! (Know what it is yet? no? I'll let you know in a week.)

Last time I wrote, the Vanilla-Espresso Imperial Stout was just a glimmer in my homebrewing eye. This Black Tie Affair beer, which is being brewed for my wedding is now about to be transferred to secondary! The future Mrs. Misdemeanor and myself brewed it about 3 weeks ago together. It went really well! She had never really payed very much attention to the brewing, but I think she enjoyed herself. After it was all said and done, the recipe came out to be this:

"Black Tie Affair"
Vanilla-Espresso RIS

OG: 1.102
FG: 1.024

0.5 lb Chocolate Malt (Steeped for 20 min. or until the temp reaches 170 F)
6.0 lb Dark Liquid Malt Extract (Start of Boil)
3.15 lb Light Liquid Malt Extract (Start of Boil)
1.5 lb Golden Light Dry Malt Extract (Start of Boil)
1.5 lb Golden Light Dry Malt Extract (End of Boil)

2.5 oz. Northern Brewer Hops (60 min.)
0.5 oz. Northern Brewer Hops (15 min.)

1 Tahitian Vanilla Bean (2 weeks before bottling)
0.5 gal Cold French Pressed "Smoking Jacket Espresso" Coffee (1 day before bottling)

So, there it is. My final recipe! Now, the beer isn't completely done yet. I rack it to secondary in a day or so, then it will age there for about a month. So, in about two weeks I will add the vanilla bean, and then a day before I bottle, I'll add the espresso.

As you can see above, the original gravity was 1.102. This is the biggest beer that I've ever brewed. I wasn't really sure how low this would fall (and consequently how high the gravity would go), but I found out today when I finally got to check it. It went down to 1.024. This means that, depending on what algorithm you use, the ABV is somewhere between 10.9% and 11.4%. Since most people put it at 11.4%, I'm going to call it 11.4%. This breaks my previous record of 7.1% handily. However, the thing that surprised me the most wasn't my ABV, it was how it tasted.

This beer, simply put, tastes AWESOME. Now, it's not done yet, but it is only going to get better! Once I add the espresso and the vanilla, I think that this could be one of my favorite beers. What does this mean? It means that I think I hit a home run on my first ever original recipe. Not only that, but my fiancée and I have brewed a beer that will be able to be enjoyed on both our wedding night and our first anniversary. This was the plan, and I think it is definitely going to pan out just as I wanted! Now, before I knock a hole in the wooden table trying to keep from jinxing myself, I should note that there is still a month and a half to go before this beer is ready to drink and a year before my first anniversary. A lot can go wrong in that time, but as long as I stay on top of it, it should be fine (better than fine if I play my cards right).

So, what's next? In a few weeks, I'll brew my Strawberry Blonde ale. I think it's going to be great too. If I do it right, it will be a real crowd pleaser. This is good since the last couple of beers I've made have been pretty exclusive to my tastes. Then again, it is MY homebrew. I can do what I want for myself since I'm the one making it. Of course, if I want the lovely future Mrs. Misdemeanor to keep letting me brew like I want to, I think I'm going to have to make things that we can share with other people rather than 50 beers that I will drink all myself!

After the Strawberry Blonde, I don't know if I'll brew again before I move. We'll just have to see how busy things get between then and now. Either way, I'll definitely try to keep this blog more updated than it has been! Hopefully after I bottle the Super-Secret-Surprise Beer, I'll give you another update. Perhaps I'll even give some more information about the beer! Bis Dann!

Photo courtesy of Duront. I liked this picture because the tuxedo, just like our Black Tie Affair is still very much a work in progress!

Lucky Number 7.1

Today I tested the gravity of my newest beer, the Super-Secret-Surprise Beer (hereafter called S3). S3 has actually surprised me. From the yeast starter to the reading today, every step has resulted in something that I didn't expect. The final gravity of this beer is 1.010, which means that this beer, which started at 1.064, weighs in at a hefty 7.1% ABV! This is the first time that I've broken the 7% mark, making this the most alcoholic beer I've made thus far. While this is exciting, I don't think this record will be standing for very long, since the next beer, the Black Tie Affair, will probably end up around 8% ABV if everything goes according to plan.

Other than the record breaking, the high ABV means that the yeast did its job and is most likely done. This means that in a few days (planning on Tuesday), I will rack the S3 to secondary, where it will stay for about a month before I bottle it. After tasting the beer, I really think that it will benefit from this extra month of aging. Knowing the style that it's modeled after, I can say very confidently that S3 as it is right now is not very true to the style. However, this is why we age it. Aging it will mellow out some of those strange phenols that I'm tasting right now, bring out the malt character, and improve the overall profile of the beer. It's drinkable now, but not great. Waiting will help.

Anyway, tonight my sister is coming over, and we will be tasting the Waldo Lake Amber Ale. So, in a day or so, I will be giving posting our tasting notes of this pretty awesome beer! You'll just have to wait until then to see how it turned out! (Hint: It turned out really well!)

Until then, all hail the Bierkaiser!

Picture Courtesy of fermentarium.com

You Got Your Beer in My Coffee!

Last time I talked about my new projects that I've been working on. One of these is my Espresso Stout. Well, the other day I finally secured the espresso that I'll be using with it! In town there is a little coffee roastery called Mama Mocha's. Sarah, the girl who owns it, is really cool. She worked with me to find a good roast that would fit my new recipe, and I think she hit the nail on the head! The name of the roast is "Smoking Jacket Espresso." It's a dark, smokey roast (as the name suggests), and I think this will meld really well with the rich malty goodness that is the Imperial Stout. If you like coffee and are in town, I think you should definitely check out Mama Mocha's Coffee Roastery. It's located in the Gnu's Room Coffee Shop and Used Book Store. If you DON'T live around, you can order from her website. Like I said, she's really cool, and she makes amazing coffee. There's no reason NOT to buy your coffee from her!

Anyway, there's something else that I should mention about this beer. I forgot to explain last time just how important this beer is to me. I said before that it's important because this the first time I'll be brewing my own recipe, but it has another source of importance. This beer is going to be brewed to commemorate my wedding! The future Mrs. Misdemeanor and I will be brewing this together to drink on our wedding day. This will be the first time that she has ever brewed with me (and possibly the last), so I wanted to make sure that this beer was special. Since I'm able to pick the name of this beer (did I mention that it's my recipe?), I decided to name it something befitting the occasion. So, after consulting my fiancée, I've decided to name it the "Black Tie Affair." This not only suits the occasion, but the fact that this beer will be unbelievably dark. I'm really excited, and I plan to brew a batch of this "Black Tie Affair" for many years to come!

Photo from Mama Mocha's Coffee Roastery

Strawberry Fields and Espresso Trees

The past two days I've been working on something fun. For the first time, I'm creating my own recipes for new beers! Until now, I've been using recipe kits from Northern Brewer. Now, however, I am taking a step to be a little more creative.

This all came about because of a post on the Northern Brewer forums about someone trying out an experimental Strawberry Ale. He had tremendous success, and posted the recipe online. So, using this recipe as a base, I tweaked it. First, I converted it from all-grain to extract. Then, I raised the gravity a bit, added some Carapils malt to it to get a bit more color, and changed the hops used. All in all, I formulated the recipe to conform to the Blonde Ale guidlines (BJCP #3a, though the beer will eventually be in category #20). After brewing this beer and letting it ferment for a bit, I'm going to rack it onto about 5-7 lb. of frozen, quartered strawberries. I'll let that sit/ferment/infuse for about a week, and then I'll bottle it! Overall, I think it's going to be delicious!

The other beer that I'm working on is an Espresso Imperial Stout. Basically what it is is a dark beer, high gravity beer to which I'm going to add some espresso. This will give it a nice flavor, and a beautiful, creamy white head. I'm basing this recipe off of another brewer who, in turn, based his off of the Brew Your Own Magazine. The all-grain version of this recipe won first place in its category (BJCP #21a) at the Upper Mississippi Mashout, a very prestigious homebrew competition. I'm changing the original recipe to conform more to the Russian Imperial Stout guidelines (BJCP #13f) so that it can be aged a little longer in the bottle. I'm hoping to use the espresso from a local coffee roaster here in town. She makes great coffee, so I'm going to talk to her about getting some espresso for this recipe on Monday (possibly).

I hope these two recipes go well. I'll be brewing/tweaking them over the next few months, so it definitely gives me a new creative outlet for my brewing and something to talk about on my blog! Also, due to the large number of batches I have in the works, I now have a brewing schedule written out so that I can make sure I get everything done that I want to before I have to move. I don't know if you can tell how excited I am, but I'm really looking forward to this! I'll give more info as it comes, but until then, "Prost!"

Picture courtesy of Julien Haler from Paris, France.

This Beer is Bananas! B-A-N-A-N-A-S

I went to go check on my beer today, and I noticed something interesting. The bubbles coming out of the airlock smelled extremely strongly of bananas. Now, this is pretty normal, but I thought I'd take the time to explain WHY it smells like bananas.

You may have heard of beer tasting or smelling like bananas before. This happens because the yeast, when fermenting, produces phenols that get in the beer. This is not altogether an undesirable trait, and in some styles, this is even a critical part of the beer! In Brew Your Own Magazine, Jamil Zainasheff (a prolific beer writer, homebrewer, and recent founder of a new brewery called Heretic Brewing) wrote a style profile for the German Hefeweizen. In it, he discussed the banana/clove taste that is consistent with the style. He said "The aroma of a good hefeweizen includes moderate spicy clove notes and fruity banana esters." This is definitely what comes to mind when I think of a Hefeweizen (one of my favorite beer styles, for what it's worth). He does caution though, "However, one of the most common mistakes in homebrewed weizen-style beers is having too much clove and banana character. Brewers might point to the BJCP [Beer Judge Certification Program] style guide which says these phenolic and ester compounds can range up to 'strong,' but do not think for a minute that it means a clove/banana bomb is acceptable." So, am I worried that I'm going to have too much banana flavor in my new Super-Secret-Surprise Beer? Well, yes and no.

I'll start off by saying that this newest beer is not a Hefeweizen. So, these phenolic characters aren't really what I want for this style of beer. There can be that hint of banana, but it's not really normal, especially not in any large amounts. That being said, I feel like I'm probably reading too much into the sniffing of the airlock. Every other time that I've brewed, the airlock has emitted some interesting smells that didn't end up in the final product. Also, even though it isn't traditional for this style of beer, I think that the banana flavor here would meld well. So, I'm not too worried about it.

I am wondering, though, why it's so strong this time compared to last time? After doing a little research, I think I know why. First, this is a new style of yeast that I've never used before. Different styles of yeast have different characters, and some smell more like bananas than others. But, more than just that, I think it's my fermentation temperature. Up until now I really haven't had to worry that much about controlling the fermentation temp. The combination of a cool apartment and tame yeast have allowed the temperatures to keep fairly low by themselves. Now, however, the ambient temperature in the apartment has risen, thus raising the original temperature of the beer. Also, this beer, as mentioned before, has been fermenting like crazy. At one point the fermenter even got up to 73 degrees. THIS, I believe is the main culprit with the banana aroma.

In the future, I will probably try to control the fermentation a little better. I can do this through a few different ways, but the easiest seems to be something called a Swamp Cooler. For now, though, I don't think I'll be able to do that, just because money is tight.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about what makes your beer B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Super-Secret-Surprise Beer!

Ok, so as I mentioned before, I was planning on brewing a new super-secret-surprise beer last weekend. Well, things got a little crazy, so I wasn't able to do it this weekend. However, since I didn't have class yesterday until 7pm, I changed the schedule to do it then! So, it is now bubbling away happily in the fermenter.

I wish I could tell you more about this beer, but unfortunately, it's a surprise! So, you'll just have to wait! It will be ready in about two months, so I know it will be a bit of a long wait, but I promise to divulge more information about it as time goes on.

I will say that the brewday went really well. I almost had a boilover after I added the malt extract (I don't know what it is about Dry Malt Extract, but it just seems to always want to boil over!), but, because I was paying super close attention to this batch, I was able to narrowly avoid that. Other than that, it was a relatively quite brew session. I had to do a yeast starter for this beer (because the gravity is slightly higher), and I was afraid that I had a bad batch of yeast. The last time I did a yeast starter, the yeast was a lot more active than it was this time. After I pitched it into this batch, though, it took off like a rocket. It's the closest I've come to needing a blowoff tube for all of the foam produced by fermentation!

I'm really excited about this beer. It ended up weighing in at about 1.064, meaning it will most likely reach about 6.8-7% ABV (though there's no real way to tell until it's done fermenting). That's a little higher than the last batch of Waldo Lake Amber Ale.

Speaking of the WLAA, I got impatient and tried a bottle of it yesterday as the beer was cooling. It wasn't quite done carbonating yet, but it was close. I must say, it is reeeeeaaally good! I hope my sister likes it (since she'll be getting a lot of it)! I'll post tasting notes for that after it is completely done. I probably won't do it, though, until my sister has had a chance to try it. Since she's the one I'm brewing it for, I thought it would only be fitting for her to have some input on the tasting notes.

Anyway, I guess it's time to go. Bis Dann!

The Innkeeper Tasting Notes

As promised, I am finally getting around to the tasting notes of my second batch of beer -- The Innkeeper! Just like last time, I'll separate the notes into sections. The sections will be Appearance, Smell, Taste, Mouthfeel, and overall Drinkability. So, let's get started!

A: Light Amber color. About the shade of a nice light honey. Pours with a nice thick white head that leaves some beautiful lacing on the glass. It looks beautiful!

S: Delicious! I can't wait to drink this beer. It has a very slight hop smell to it, but it's nowhere near an IPA or American Pale Ale. I can also detect a bit of some banana phenols, almost like you would get in a Hefeweizen, although this is much much less pronounced.

T: It's crisp, dry, with mineral undertones. It's slightly bready, but there's a nice hop backbone. Just like in the smell, the hops are not super-pronounced. It's more of a crisp bitterness that is very refreshing.

M: There's a nice carbonated prickle to this beer. I really like it. It's definitely very crisp and refreshing, mainly, I think, due to its low gravity.

D: I really like this beer! This is one of those sit-on-the-front-porch-in-a-rocking-chair-while-the-breeze-wafts-by sort of beers. Perfect for this change of the season. The lower gravity of this beer means you can drink 3 or 4 and still be able to function. As I mentioned earlier, you'll be lucky to get one of these since I'm probably going to be selfish and keep them all for myself!

In the end, this is seriously one of the best beers I've ever had. And no, that's not just because I brewed it. I wish we could get the beer that this is modeled after (Timothy Taylor's Landlord) here in the US, but unfortunately it's only for the lucky folks in the UK.

Soon I'll be able to try out the Waldo Lake Amber Ale! And I promise to post about how that goes as well! Until then, Misdemeanor OUT!

Have I Been Drunk for Three Weeks??

First off, the answer is no. I've just been super busy! In the last three weeks I've had midterms, papers due, went to Chicago for a week, got engaged, and many many other things. However, that does not excuse my lack of posting! So, I'm going to try and get you caught up as best I can on the state of my brewing!

As I noted in the last post, a few weeks ago, I brewed my first batch with a yeast starter -- The Waldo Lake Amber Ale. Everything went perfectly with the fermentation, and the beer weighs in at a hefty 6.4% ABV (although, as previously mentioned, this is just an estimate). I decided to let it ferment in primary for 3 weeks and then bottle it. I could have let it go a little longer, but I needed to free up my primary fermenter for my next, super-secret batch, which I will talk more about later. So, yesterday I bottled the Waldo Lake. Of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't narrowly escape a HUGE mistake. When I was bottling, I almost forgot to add the priming sugar to the beer. This, of course would have been disastrous since that sugar is what allows the beer to condition in the bottles and naturally carbonate itself. At the last second, however, I remembered it, and the beer is now happily conditioning. It should be ready in about 2 weeks.

I'm anxious to see how this beer turned out. It was a lot of firsts for me. It was the first time I had made a yeast starter, the first time I utilized first-wort hops, and the first time I had bottled into my new Northern Brewer growler. For those of you who don't know, a growler is a 2 liter bottle for beer. This is an experiment for me mainly because this growler has a screw-top. So, I'm really hoping I screwed it on tight enough or that will be one flat bottle of beer!

In other news, I finished off my last bottle of Irish Red (save, of course, the bottle that I tucked away in my closet to cellar). So, if you didn't get any, I'm sorry! I'm out! I do, however, have a lot of The Innkeeper left! As of right now, I have about 30 bottles of it left. However, I don't plan on really giving a lot out for a few reasons. Partly because it may have to last me a while. I'll be going to the beach in a few weeks, so I'm going to want to have a nice lighter beer to drink while I'm there. Also, I'm starting to run a little thin on the monetary resources, and I don't know how many more batches I'll be able to make before my disposable income runs out. However, the main reason is that I REALLY like this beer. I honestly think it's one of my favorite beers that I've ever had, so I want to keep it all for myself. Is that selfish? Yes, but I brewed it. I have a right to be selfish. This is not a Beerocracy. this is a Beertatorship, and I am the Bierkaiser! So there! (Honestly, if you ask me really really nicely, I'll probably give you a bottle... just don't tell anyone!)Also related to The Innkeeper, I realized that I didn't publish tasting notes on it. I'll try to do that soon, complete with pictures!

I'm starting a new project this weekend, but I'm keeping it under wraps for now. It should be really good, though! I'm excited! After that, I plan on making a Bourbon Barrel Porter. This will take a while, and it may be the last beer I brew before I move. We'll just have to see!

H is for Hydrometer

A while back, I did something stupid. No, not go on several national television interviews rambling about tiger blood and whatnot (not that I wouldn't if I actually were famous enough to have a TV interview). I broke my hydrometer.

For those of you who don't know what a hydrometer is, it basically determines the specific gravity of a liquid, which is the density relative to water. Water = 1.000, Ethyl Alcohol at room temp = 0.789, and Mercury at room temp = 13.600. The specific gravity (or SG) of beer is important in determining how much sugar is in the unfermented beer and how much alcohol has been produced after fermentation ends. The higher the SG, the more sugars that can be converted to alcohol, and the higher abv the beer ends up at. This is why the beers that have a high percentage of alcohol are called "High Gravity."

So, I broke the tool that tells me what my gravity is. This wasn't too bad, since they don't cost too much. I quickly got an order together and had a new one shipped my way. It was coming in Saturday, which meant I could brew Sunday as I had planned.

When Saturday morning came, I brewed up a yeast starter since the next beer I am making is a little higher gravity than what I've done before. The yeast starter allows for both more and healthier yeast to be produced before the beer is brewed. That allows the yeast to survive in the higher alcohol content of a higher gravity beer. Everything was going well until the shipment came.

Once the package arrived and the yeast were happily reproducing, I eagerly opened it up. My excitement quickly turned to anger as I found that my brand new hydrometer had come pre-shattered. It was too late to turn back from my brewing schedule since the yeast starter wouldn't keep until time to get a new hydrometer, so I brewed on Sunday anyway. I'm just going to guess that the Original Gravity was at the right level and hope for the best.

I called customer service, and they were very helpful. They agreed to send a new hydrometer out to me free of charge. It should be here any day now. This has not changed my opinion of Northern Brewer at all, in fact, I kind of respect them more for how helpful they were!

Anyway, this weekend I will be going home, and my second batch of beer, "The Innkeeper" should be ready to drink! I'm really excited, I think it's going to be very good! I'll post a picture and tasting notes once I try it.

Hope everyone's having a good week! Drink good beer, live a good life!

Irish Red Tasting Notes

My first batch of beer is finally ready! So, I thought I'd do a little tasting to show how it turned out. For those of you who are not familiar with beer tasting, there are five basic things that you look for: Appearance, Smell, Taste, Mouthfeel, and overall Drinkability. I'll give a description of the beer in each of these areas.

A: Deep amber color - consistent with the style. Head of about 1 to 2 fingers, though it dissipates fairly quickly.

S: Sweet. Small hint of alcohol, but just barely noticeable.

T: Fairly thin malt with just a hint of hoppy bitterness. If you don't like IPA's, you will probably be able to drink this beer pretty easily. It's a little bready, but there is a bit of a twang to it that is hard to place. I think it may be from the yeast that I used. If/when I make this beer again, I will most likely use a different yeast. Can't really taste the alcohol in it, which is a plus.

M: Interesting carbonation. Fairly thin, definitely easy to drink.

D: I like it. It's not my favorite beer ever, but it is definitely drinkable. I will most likely try to make this again and make subtle tweaks to it to try and perfect it.

I hope you enjoyed this tasting profile. If you get a chance to try it, please comment with what you think. Nobody's tastes are exactly the same, so what I taste may be different from what you taste! I definitely look forward to trying the next beer. I think it's going to be even better!

Message (and beer) in a Bottle

Ok, after a while, I finally got around to bottling The Innkeeper! It went pretty smoothly, so that's always a plus. I had my trusty assistant Randall take some pictures for me since I was a little busy, so I hope you enjoy!


Before I did anything, I washed and sanitized my bottles, bottling bucket, auto-siphon, bottle-filler, and hoses. Then, I boiled a solution of water and sugar (2 cups water to 5/8 cup sugar) and added it to my bottling bucket. I then siphoned the beer directly on top of this solution. This is me siphoning the beer!


A special thanks to Anthony Bourdain for stopping by to help me hold up the carboy... with the point of his knife.


After I had siphoned all of the beer to the bottling bucket, leaving behind the yeast and other trub in the bottom of the carboy, I began filling the bottles. I use a bottle-filler and hose attached to a spigot at the bottom of the bucket. The filler has a stop in the bottom that allows the beer to flow through only when it touches the bottom of the beer bottle.


After filling the bottles, I capped them using my Red Baron capper. I used uncrimped caps that had been sterilized in my StarSan solution.

After I had finished filling and capping all of the bottles that I could (I had fewer bottles this time than with the Irish Red due to the boilover), I put them away in a nice, dark place to finish. The sugar solution that I added to the beer will be eaten up by the leftover yeast and converted to CO2, naturally carbonating the beer. This process will take about two weeks and it will be ready to drink!

I tried a small sample of the un-carbed beer, and I really think this beer is going to be delicious! I'm really excited!

I also tried my first bottle of Irish Red yesterday, and it was ready to go! I'll post some tasting notes of that either tonight or tomorrow! Until then, "All for Brew, and Brew for All!"

Bottling Postponed.... again.

Ok, tomorrow I'm REALLY going to bottle. I just got a little caught up in some schoolwork today and didn't really have any time to bottle. So, I'm definitely bottling tomorrow. Sorry for the delay!

Bottling Tomorrow

So, before I left for the weekend, the krausen (the head that forms on the beer when it's fermenting) had not fallen into the beer. That normally means that it's not quite done fermenting. Therefore I decided to wait a little bit on bottling.

When I got back, the krausen had fallen (though it looked like it had only just fallen). So, I took a gravity reading. It weighed in at 1.009 from 1.038. This puts the abv at about 3.8%. This is, of course, pretty low, but that is what I expected. This morning I checked the gravity again and it was holding steady at 1.009 meaning that it is ready to bottle.

Originally I was going to bottle today, but two things happened that prevented me from that:

1) I realized that not all of the bottles I needed had been de-labeled. So, I required a little more prep first.

2) My beloved Toomer's Corner Trees were poisoned, most likely irreparably. If you want to read more about what happened, click HERE. After hearing this, I really didn't want to do anything. I certainly didn't want to bottle my beer on this anniversary.

Therefore, I decided that I will bottle tomorrow when I don't have class.

I'll let you know how that goes and will try to post some pictures! Until then, War Eagle!

Bottling and Waldo Lake

Last Sunday, before the Super Bowl, I bottled my first batch! Everything went pretty smoothly, and I now have 48 bottles of Irish Red conditioning. In about a week and a half, they will be ready to drink! I'm really excited to try my new beer, and if the pre-bottling sample I tried is any indication, it will be goooood!

I'm going back home for the weekend, but my next batch should be ready to bottle Sunday. So, I will most likely bottle it either Sunday night after I get back or on Monday. One day after it is ready won't hurt anything, so it should be fine to rest over the weekend. I'll try to find someone to take pictures this time, but it was just too hard to do everything I had to do AND take pictures. Don't worry though, you'll see the long, drawn-out bottling process soon enough!

Also, after I bottle The Innkeeper, my primary fermenter will be free to house my next beer! This beer is called the "Waldo Lake Amber Ale." It was requested by my sister, and it sounds like it will be very good! The Northern Brewer website says that it "shows off a brilliant russet-amber with a cap of white and draws you in with a nose of citrus, lemongrass, and malt. A classic combo of northwest hops offsets a dense, chewy, caramelly sweetness and gets you ready for a big finish."

Interesting note, I actually talked to the guy who developed this recipe. His name is Denny, and he is a very active homebrewer and regular contributor to the Northern Brewer forums. He talked about the reason he formulated this recipe on that website.

I know some crazy people, but one of the craziest is my good friend Mel Lemay. Every year, she runs the Where's Waldo 100K Ultramarathon around Waldo Lake in the Oregon Cascade Mountain Range. The race starts at an elevation of 5120 feet, and goes to over 7800 feet at points. There's a total of over 11,000 feet of elevation change over the course of the race. You have to be crazy to do that! Several of us go camping at the lake to give moral support when she runs and I developed this recipe to her tastes so shed have something to look forward to at the end of the race. Its a smooth amber ale... not too hoppy, but with enough bitterness and hop flavor that the rest of us enjoy it too.

Anyway, I'm really excited to brew this beer. It will also be my first time to use a yeast starter. This will allow the original gravity (and the final ABV) to be a little higher than my first two batches.

I hope my sister likes it! I'm sure I will!

Innkeeper Brewday.

If you have not been following me before now, check out misdemeanorbrewing.tumblr.com to see my past posts. Now, however, I'm going to start anew on this page!

About a week ago I brewed my second batch of beer. I had a little snag, but nothing too bad! Overall, everything went well, and now the beer has bubbling away in the fermenter for about a week.

I've had a few people criticize the fact that I didn't have any pictures on my blog. So, I took a lot of pictures on brewday and I'll share them here! Here it goes!



These were the contents of the kit that I ordered from Northern Brewer called "The Innkeeper."



I got about 2.5 gallons of water into a pot and began to heat it.



I steeped the specialty grains in the water to extract color and flavor.



Once the temp of the water reached 170ºF, I removed the specialty grains. If you leave them in too long, it can extract the tannins out of those grains and make the beer taste bad (or at least not good).



After the bag of grains was removed, I brought the water up to a boil. After that, I removed the water from the eye and added the malt extract. This recipe called for a dry malt extract (DME), liquid malt extract (LME), and corn sugar. After this addition, the mixture is called Wort. I couldn't really take a picture of this since I needed both hands to stir it. This is where I hit a little snag. While trying to bring the water back up to a boil, I got distracted by taking pictures, and my wort boiled over a little bit. I didn't lose a lot of wort, but it did make my final gravity a little lower than it should have been. Anyway, I just took the advice of Charlie Papazian: "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew!" Since I didn't have any homebrew yet, I just did a little breathing exercise and carried on with the brewday.



So, after I got the beer back to a boil, I put in the first addition of hops. I know that some of you might be thinking, "Wait, that's not hops, that's rabbit food!" But it's definitely hops. It's just not the iconic hop cone that you are used to seeing. These are hop pellets, which are dried, pressed hope cones. Most brewers don't use whole hops unless they grow them themselves. Now, that's not to say that you CAN'T use whole hops and you can also buy whole hops, but they are just not as readily available.



I had my trusty assistant Kenny take a picture of me adding the hops to the boil. I did this three times over the 60 minute boil with three different varieties of hops.



After the 60 minute boil was done, I had to cool it as rapidly as possible. I did this using an ice bath in my sink. Something that would work better would be a Wort Chiller, but I just can't quite afford that yet. Soon!



While the wort was chilling, I sanitized everything that would be touching it from now on: funnel, yeast package, airlock, scissors, and the carboy (I sanitized everything, so if I left something out of this list, it's not because I didn't sanitize it). This is the sanitized carboy. The foil on top is a sanitized piece of aluminum foil to keep any microbes or whatnot out. The foam inside is the leftover foam from the StarSan. It is completely safe, and I was able to pour the beer directly on top of the foam. Don't Fear the Foam!

This is where I couldn't really do much with my camera since I needed about 6 hands to do everything else. Basically, once the wort was chilled, I poured it into the carboy. I took a gravity reading, and it was about 1.038, which was less than what it should be. I'm attributing this to loss of fermentable sugars and water due to the boilover. No big though, it will just have a little less ABV.



So, after I got all of the wort transferred, aerated, and measured, it was time to pitch the yeast. This is a pic of the yeast I took before I started brewing. If I had taken it right before I pitched it, this bag would have been swollen. That's because this type of yeast has an activator in it to proof the yeast. However, I was so focused on making sure everything else went right that I forgot to take a picture of the swollen yeast packet! Sorry!



I then put on an airlock and put it in my closet! The other carboy is the Irish Red Ale that was conditioning in the secondary fermenter.

So, it has been fermenting for about a week now and it's still going strong! In about a week, if it's ready, I will bottle it!

Today I'm going to be bottling that Irish Red Ale. After I bottle, it will take about 2 weeks to condition and then it will be ready to drink! I'm excited! I'll let you know how that goes! Until then, "All for brew, and brew for all!"