A long break or a busy life.

This is the first time I have updated this blog in awhile. I have been busy with a new job and a baby at home, But  I plan on trying to brew more soon. I also have some other thing's I might expand into..Not sure yet though. I have all those Saisons I need to taste and bottle before the Brett has it's way to far with them. If they are to dry/tart/ whatever then I will save them and attempt to blend with a fresh beer. More brewing and tasting entries should come this way soon!

Tina's Irish Not So Red: Tasting

I brewed an irish red awhile back and just got around to doing a tasting for here. It came out really good, I except it came out brown instead of red. The lovibond on roasted barley I used was alot darker than what was specified in the recipe. I adjusted for it but not enough, Next time I will pull it back a little more. Overall I am very happy with this beer. The roasted character might turn off non-craft beers drinkers but this is still one of the better beers I've ever brewed.

Appearance – A clear reddish brown and a creamy off white head. Lots of lacing on the glass even though the head dissipates a minute or two.

Smell – A slight malty aroma.

Taste – A balance of malt and roast. Just barely any hop taste there, just enough to balance the crystal malt. Very happy with this even though it came out more roasty than it was supposed to.

Mouthfeel – A dry medium bodied beer. The roast sits in the back of your mouth after you swallow. A  slight prickle from the medium-low carbonation.

Brewing Notes -  Tina's Irish Red Ale

My First Pelicle and A Cucumber Wheat

This post is updates on several beers, first this previous post  when I brewed an American Wheat half of which is destined for cucumbers. Well the time has come! I racked it onto about 3 pounds or so of peeled and sliced cucumbers. I'll give it a week or two depending on the taste and then bottle it. Should be delicious if it tastes like I imagine it will.

The other update is I finally have my first pelicle and I spy a second one on the way. My dark Cherry Saison has formed a nice whitish pelicle and my Rye Farmhouse Saison has some white dots floating around which I am sure is the start of one. The Rye Saison had fermentation issues and had a bubblegum taste, hopefully this will diminish with time and with the Brettanomyces working on it.

Brewing Notes - American Cucumber Wheat, Dark Cherry Saison, Rye Farmhouse Saison

A Simple White Bread

I baked up a very simple white bread tonight. Ive been reading alot on The Fresh Loaf and plan on baking more often. This bread included only four ingredients and took little effort to make. Knead them together and let rise until its doubled. Knead it down again and let rise again. Then just bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes and we are done.

3 cups of flour
1 1/8 cup of water
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of yeast

Tasting: Dueling Wits

I brewed my Session by Session Witbier and split the batch half on strawberries and left the other half alone. I bottled them last week and the are already carbonated.  I will check back in a couple weeks to see if they matured anymore in the bottle. Both came out lighter than the picture looks, coming as you could wish for using extract. The teaspoon of whole wheat flour I added into the brew kettle as advised in Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing added a nice haze customary to Wits. Overall the strawberry version is my definite favorite. 

Appearance – Both have nice creamy white heads, the unfruited version staying and the fruited beer loses its head after a minute or two. Probably because of oils  in the fruit.

Smell – The nose on the unfruited version has a yeasty wheat aroma. The berried version is a yeasty berry.

Taste – This is where I wish I could of found indian coriander instead of the normal grocery store variety I used, it comes through with a celery taste instead of the bright citrus taste I hoped for. Still tastes like it should, I am just not a big fan of coriander. The strawberry beer is came out exactly as I had hoped, a bright berry, slightly tart taste with a biscuit yeasty background.

Mouthfeel – Light body with medium carbonation, but they should carbonate a little more hopefully. Dry and leaves the mouth wanting more, perfect for a summer beer.

Brewing Notes -  Session by Session Witbier