Christmas Update
Pardon my conspicuous lack of witty banter. I'll just get right to it and update you on brewing projects:
Centennium is in the bottle. Uncarbed, it had a strangely sweet/fruity sensation which was enjoyable and it hardly is undrinkably bitter, it is surprisingly mellow. As I recall it is around 9% ABV and 100 IBUs.
My Belgian IPA, known as "Ardennes IPA", is also in the bottle carbing. It is a tribute (if not a clone) to the Belgian Houblon d'Achouffe (or whatever Achouffe's IPA is called). Jury is still out. It will be an interesting beer, at least.
The grape wine experiment was bottled...it is very sweet and grapey, but hey, some people might like that, and it only cost 17 bucks for the whole 5 gal batch!
I tested the Sparkling Mead. Right know it is a Still Mead. No matter, it has a delicate, very simple flavour profile, and it may carb eventually.
Two items were started on Sunday. First was my attempt at a Marston's Pedigree Bitter clone. I used Burton water salts, Burton ale yeast, Maris Otter malt, and a combination of Goldings, Fuggles, and Challenger hops. The hydrometer sample tasted fairly good...this may not be the equivalent of that most excellent British bitter, but it should still be a good, quaffable ale. Second was a very basic cider...4 gallons of cider and 2lbs of brown sugar with Whitbread ale yeast. That is thundering away...when it is finished, I will rack it onto a gallon of pure blackcurrant juice for a "black cider". I'm sparing the blackcurrant juice from the first vigorous primary fermentation, with the hopes of ensuring more blackcurrant flavour in the end product, post-fermentation.
Up next, on the yeast cake of the Pedigree clone (WLP029, Burton Ale) I will be brewing a strong English IPA utilizing only Challenger hops (and plenty of them). Perhaps I'll name it Challenger IPA with a picture of the British FV4030/4 Challenger Main Battle Tank. And on the S-04 Whitbread yeast cake (from the cider) I'll be brewing Hopricot, an IPA with apricots. It will be a standard American IPA, brewed with high-alpha Summit hops, and then racked onto 3lbs of apricot puree, possibly with an addition of natural apricot essence for aroma. Basically a combination of powerful hop bitterness and aroma with apricots, in the vague style of Dogfish Head's Aprihop.
Centennium is in the bottle. Uncarbed, it had a strangely sweet/fruity sensation which was enjoyable and it hardly is undrinkably bitter, it is surprisingly mellow. As I recall it is around 9% ABV and 100 IBUs.
My Belgian IPA, known as "Ardennes IPA", is also in the bottle carbing. It is a tribute (if not a clone) to the Belgian Houblon d'Achouffe (or whatever Achouffe's IPA is called). Jury is still out. It will be an interesting beer, at least.
The grape wine experiment was bottled...it is very sweet and grapey, but hey, some people might like that, and it only cost 17 bucks for the whole 5 gal batch!
I tested the Sparkling Mead. Right know it is a Still Mead. No matter, it has a delicate, very simple flavour profile, and it may carb eventually.
Two items were started on Sunday. First was my attempt at a Marston's Pedigree Bitter clone. I used Burton water salts, Burton ale yeast, Maris Otter malt, and a combination of Goldings, Fuggles, and Challenger hops. The hydrometer sample tasted fairly good...this may not be the equivalent of that most excellent British bitter, but it should still be a good, quaffable ale. Second was a very basic cider...4 gallons of cider and 2lbs of brown sugar with Whitbread ale yeast. That is thundering away...when it is finished, I will rack it onto a gallon of pure blackcurrant juice for a "black cider". I'm sparing the blackcurrant juice from the first vigorous primary fermentation, with the hopes of ensuring more blackcurrant flavour in the end product, post-fermentation.
Up next, on the yeast cake of the Pedigree clone (WLP029, Burton Ale) I will be brewing a strong English IPA utilizing only Challenger hops (and plenty of them). Perhaps I'll name it Challenger IPA with a picture of the British FV4030/4 Challenger Main Battle Tank. And on the S-04 Whitbread yeast cake (from the cider) I'll be brewing Hopricot, an IPA with apricots. It will be a standard American IPA, brewed with high-alpha Summit hops, and then racked onto 3lbs of apricot puree, possibly with an addition of natural apricot essence for aroma. Basically a combination of powerful hop bitterness and aroma with apricots, in the vague style of Dogfish Head's Aprihop.
posted by SQLFunkateer at 11:33 AM
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