Well, it's been long enough since I've done an update, so here's what's perking:
On tap, I've got my First Class Pale Ale, and CC's Peachy Wheat. The Pale Ale is an American IPA; it was brewed the first of August. I figure I'm almost halfway done with the keg. It's got a bit of a haze to it, but is nearly clear despite that. It has a lovely aroma of Amarillo hops, a good malt backbone, and pours with a dense, rocky head that lasts to the last couple of sips. All in all, I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5, and "yes, I'll have another."
The Wheat is an American Wheat Beer/Fruit Beer; I brewed it 'way back in June, so it's a bit past its prime. For all of that, it's still quite wheaty, despite being a bit more "kristall" than I might like. The peaches that were added late in fermentation make a faint background appearance. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of wheat beers--I brewed this for my Lady Wife--and so I'm not as devoted to this as I might otherwise be. I'll give it 1.5 out of 5, and a "what else do you have?".
On deck are two more of CC's beers (brewed, as above, for my Lady Wife): Cherry Brown Ale and Blackberry Stout. I'm reserving judgment on the Brown, but think the Stout might be noteworthy, albeit slightly low on the blackberry. Additionally, I have an American Brown Ale that started life as an Amber--it was a "kitchen sink" beer, using up some of my random ingredients, and came out darker than anticipated. It is likely to be mediocre-to-decent... Then, there's the ones I'm really looking forward to: An English IPA and a pair of Scottish 80/- ales. The EIPA went into the keg last week; one of the 80/-'s was kegged a couple of weeks ago, and the second 80/- was just brewed thes most recent weekend. The IPA tasted extremely well-balanced, with a lovely biscuity maltiness combined with a firm bittering, that I think will be marvelous to behold. The first 80/- seemed a bit sweet and under-attenuated; I hope that additional time, plus some carbonation, will dry it out a little.
This past Brew Day saw me doing a tweaked repeat of the 80/-. The weather tried to help by being "more Scottish"--it was about 35 degrees F with a cold rain throughout. In spite of that, I managed to hit my temperatures and volumes to a pretty good precision--I was aiming for an OG of 1.054, hit 1.056. I got a lot of yeast pitched, fermentation temps have been satisfactory since then, and it has smelled magical from the airlock. If this turns out as it has the potential to do, I will likely have a new permanent 'haus' recipe in my stable.Labels: brew day, Tapped, tasting notes