(3/30/2010)

A lot has happened over the last week. I finally managed to brew the cream ale and I think it turned out as the best brew day on the system so far, and hopefully it will turn out to be my best brew to date. I (for the first time) hit all of my numbers within a one degree window and I hit all of my volumes to within a pint. With a final volume of 80 pints (10 gal), that's maintaining a margin of error of only 1.25%. My efficiency was a little higher than the expected 80% but only by 2 or 3%. The increase in efficiency was really a surprise considering I used an abbreviated cereal mash to save time.

On another front, my centennial rhizome is back to life and has sent up three shoots. Over the last two or three days the shoots have tripled in length and put out a total of 14 leaves. In the next day or two, I will be installing a trellis capable of holding a second centennial and I will be transplanting the rhizome from a large pot to the ground.

A little further down the road, I have been thinking about putting in some winter wheat at the end of the growing season. I think it would be great to try to make an organic witbier with all the wheat grown here. It's still just a thought for now...

(3/18/2010)

Well, I never got around to brewing the cream ale...but it is still on the agenda. My last week has been consumed with another activity I enjoy, gardening. Don't think for a second that the brewing is being neglected though...I have incorporated some herbs to be used in some belgian ales in the garden.

going along with the garden topic, my centennial rhizome (which I assumed was dead) has sent up 3 runners so far this year. I am going to build a trellis in the back yard against the house as soon as I have an opportunity.

3/10/2010

Since my last post, I have bottled my Mosse Drool clone, and I think I turned out excellent. From the 10 gallons, I was left with exactly 88 bottles. I plan on opening a bottke tonight possibly to see how it has been carbonating. The ESB I brewed is growing on me. At first I wasn't such a fan, but now I love it.

This Sunday, I will be brewing my cream ale. I have to make a starter first because I accidentally froze my yeast. Hopefully there is still some life in those little vials.

Cream Ale:

80% 2-row
10% rice
10% sugar

17 IBU Noble hops

(3/3/2010)

Last night I tried the first beer I brewed on the new system and I was very well pleased. The carbonation was just right and the beer kept a nice creamy tan head. The bottle had very little sediment on the bottom which was also nice. I think I might have over sparged just a bit because the beer tasted very dry, much drier than a final gravity of 1.012 should be. Meghan really seemed to enjoy this one so I think it turned out pretty well!