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!