And yesterday a good time was had by all. (Or as nearly all as makes no real difference.) Our new Baron and Baroness were successfully invested, despite the weather; my Lady Wife did her (usual) spectacular job with the feast, and the daughters were as well-behaved as could be expected. Yea!
I had two beers on tap, starting at about 4:30pm and going until I came back this morning to gather things up & help with site cleanup. Served were: the Irish Red Ale that I brewed up at Night On The Town, back in April at the same site; and a Kolsch that I literally threw together from what I had available on a surprise brewing day back in July. Of the two, the Kolsch was by far the more popular; even in my opinion (for what it's worth) it was the better brew. The Irish Red is the one that I've been bleeding pressure off of for going on two months now; apparently, it's still fermenting, and isn't done deciding what it wants to be when it grows up. It still tastes green, very yeasty, and--well, not finished.
The Kolsch, on the other hand, was nothing short of spectacular. The only 'ding' I could give it was that I'll probably dial the hops back just a touch next time. While the balance wasn't bad, they overshadowed the malt just enough that (again, in my opinion) it wasn't what it needed to be. All the same, the Kolsch was tapped out--all 5 gallons--in almost exactly four hours. I literally poured the last half-glass for His (new) Excellency at 8:30. I think that's a speed record for a brew at one of our events. (Even at Pennsic, all 2 long hot weeks of it, they didn't make it through a measly 8 kegs--I came home with 3 gallons of brown ale. If they drank everything like they hit the Kolsch last night, I couldn't bring enough beer to Pennsic--we'd need another truck!)
So all was well for that; I was well pleased with the responses I got. Further, I've got my handout pretty much done for University next weekend; I just need to go over it through the week until I've got it down pat. Not a problem. Then, the next weekend, it's Brewing Time! Perhaps a Kolsch is in order...Labels: Baronial Birthday, teaching, university