Snowy Spring Day

So far, we're pretty sure we haven't fucked this up.


We siphoned the beer from the large carboy to the smaller one and managed to leave behind the batter-like layer of dead yeast. Although it looks very dark and stout-like in the picture, the beer is actually a light coppery brown, much like you'd expect from a pale ale. Our biggest concern now is that it looks a bit thin, possibly because the malt wasn't extracted quite right. It's too early to tell whether the finished beer will have the right thickness.


Once transferred into the smaller carboy, we added the final packet of hop pellets. We saved a portion of the pre-dry-hopped batch and measured the specific gravity - 1.019. The last thing we did before cleaning was a taste test. It was a little sweet but otherwise hoppy and finally tasted closer to real beer. Once it ferments more and loses the sweetness, it should taste like what you'd expect from an English IPA.

Dry hopping:


Measuring:

Round Two

We've been patiently waiting all week for the next big step. I imagine this is what we've looked like:



Today we are racking the beer! It will be transferred from the 6.5 gallon carboy where it's been fermenting into a smaller 5.0 gallon carboy. When you transfer the liquid, you leave behind the trub (pronounced "trooob" according to Willie). The trub is the nasty bottom layer of dead yeast and sediments. We are also dry-hopping the beer and adding gelatin finings. Dry-hopping the beer means we add hop pellets directly into the carboy instead of into the boiling wort. This beer required hops both in the wort (for bittering the beer and adding flavor) and then dry-hopping to add aroma. We're not too sure of what the gelatin finings do, but we think it has something to do with making it clearer. Right now we're getting the kitchen clean and set up, so hopefully later today I'll have pictures of the process and the smaller carboy. Cheers!

Fermentation

Today the fermenting beer has a foamy layer floating on top. The gunk is called "kraeusen", and it's like a big yeast pool party. We should hopefully be able to rack the beer into a secondary fermenter this weekend. Racking = fancy way to say 'move the liquid from one container to another'. Details on the next steps later...

So far so good, let's keep our fingers crossed!

End of "Day One"

It is almost 10pm and we are finally done with the day's work. The "Relax, Have A Homebrew" mantra in the book definitely came in handy. Although the steps aren't necessarily complicated, it's hard not to get anxious about following them correctly. The most stressful part about it was working in our tiny kitchen - we kept bumping into each other and running out of counter space. Willie didn't seem to be bothered by it, but I found the heat and smell of the boiling wort to be a bit too much at times. We kept the kitchen door closed and it felt like a thick fog of beer funk took over the house. Cue "Thriller" and the beer zombies.

Some notes: Once in the carboy the color can be *roughly* described as "18 degrees srm" which to me means like a deep copper/light brown with lighter colored sediment in the bottom third. The OG (original gravity) of the wort (after the yeast was pitched) was 1.061, or "sixteen degrees balling" heehee.



Oh and neat headline stolen from fark.com:

British brewery set to brew first authentic batch of India Pale Ale in 200 years by making it aboard a ship in the North Sea

We love beer

My earliest beer memory took place when I was about five, in Puerto Rico. My dad and his friends were drinking cold Budweisers and I asked him for a sip. My dad made a crazy face and told me beer was made from goat piss. I had the tiniest sip ever and was convinced he was telling the truth. Oh how things change...

I, of course, never had an underage sip other than that ;-) but eventually grew into liking beer. I try not to be a prissy girl, so in college I made sure never to drink Smirnoffs because I was clearly too cool. OK, maybe I had one or two but I didn't like it. I was lucky to have friends who drank interesting (not always good but at least adventurous) beers, and I started liking Le Fin Du Monde and the other Unibroue offerings. My palate has changed over time and I'm currently on an IPA kick. The hoppier the better. Current fave is Bells' Two Hearted Ale but when I'm on the east coast I have Dogfish Head IPAs.

Willie started enjoying beer in high school wait NO, college. Yes, college. And he claims to have pretty much always liked beer. He is also lucky his parents have a fridge full of good local stuff like Free State (from Lawrence, KS) or Boulevard (from KC). His current favorites are Hopslam (seasonal made by Bell's), Hop Rod Rye (from California's Bear Republic) and Bridgeport IPA. We both love the Boulevard Single and Double Wide IPAs too.

Willie and I have been talking about beer brewing for a while now, and he took the lead and ordered a couple great books. "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian is an excellent resource. I am still in the process of reading but Willie is ready to go! We took a trip to the Bacchus and Barleycorn wine and beerbrewing store in Shawnee, KS, and bought a great starter kit that also came with "The Homebrewer's Companion", the sister book to "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing". We picked their "Luplin Fix" kit, which should turn into an English-style IPA. As with any hobby, there is an investment of time and money but the rewards here have the potential to be far cooler than, say, making a friendship bracelet. (no hate intended to the bracelet makers out there) Also, other hobbies don't get you drunk.

The supplies:


The yeast "smack pack":


The workspace:


The Ale Pail:

The grain pour:


Fun times!