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!
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