(2/26/2010)

I have come to realize that I am slow to post anything new and for this, I appologize. Well...this week I have some interesting thoughts for anyone out there. I unknowingly scheduled myself off two days off in a row this week and I couldn't have been happier. On Tuesday, my first day off I prepared for my first exam in my masters class which ended up being a great idea. On Wednesday, (my second day off), I decided to brew 5 gallons of anything that was a lager. After much deliberation, I found a good looking clone of Yuengling and I decide Meghan (my wife) would absolutely love this recipe.

After a great brew day I pitched my yeast and as of 48 hours later nothing had happened. The Wyeast package I pitched only swelled slightly after being activated for over 5 hours. I guess this was the major reason for concern. This was my first lager...and to date I have never had a bad brew (specificallly meaning infection). After reading much through the Wyeast website, I concluded I could wait 36 hours before seeing any activity. After a full 48 hours I didn't know what to do, but then I realized I had a re pitch of Wyeast 1098 in the fridge. I decided to pitch 100ml of Wyeast 1098 to save my beer. About 6 hours later, the 1098 has depleted all of the O2 and begun to ferment the beer, evident from the full kausen on the beer.

Hopefully I will have better luck next time. I am vary happy that I was able to slavage the beer after 48 hours of lag time. I think I will try to use several dry yeast packets the next time to ensure the proper pitching rates rates.

One last thing... Paradocs, I absolutley love the names you give your beers especially the IRA...