"Lend me some sugar. I am your neighbor."
- the Outkast
Today was bottling day at Philbony's Brewery.
I got 39 full twelve-ounce bottles from a 5-gallon batch. That's a 73% efficiency! The recipe assumed only 70%. For a first-time solo brewer I'm ecstatic. I did not top off with water after boil either -- nothing diluted.
Once again I tasted the uncarbonated BEER. I originally tasted it about a week ago when I transferred from the primary fermenter to the secondary. This time I chilled it in the fridge. No off flavors to speak of. Hoppy flavor with a strong beer-y aroma.
Looking forward to the finished product. The bubbles should be interesting since temperature was so hard to control during the mash. Higher mash temps allegedly equate to more aggressive bubbling.
Lagering in the basement now. Temperature is up to 70 degrees now that spring is kicking. Will take 2 weeks for bubbles, plus time to condition the flavor further.
Photo to whet the appetite for your 4th of July pleasure...
7 comments:
Tremendous job! Looking ofrward to July 4th (aka: drink day) if we can wait that long!
Oh yea, did you in fact use lager yeast? did you notice a difference versus the ale yeast, more bubbles, floaters etc...? Remember I never say "aggressive" bubbling and had a lot of crap floating and all that sludge on the bottom. I need answers man!!!!
Chopes - the waiting is the hardest part. While this one is a lager recipe, I actually used a liquid Ale yeast since my basement is 68 degrees -- too warm for lager. The guy at Grape & Granary said it will work fine. I'll post another video soon of the new batch I brewed over the weekend. It is a very BIG & HOPPY ale teeming with activity. It's bubbling like mad dog in heat! That is...uh... "agressively".
Will the big, hoppy ale be ready by the 4th? I'm a big fan of Stone, if you could pull off something similar you may replace Purple Kush as my new hero. (That's saying alot)
Mucous - if you like big hoppy ales have you tried Dog Fish Head, there is a 60 min and 90 min IPA, that are very hoppy. They are a small Maryland Brewery so they may not make it to the west coast. It has made me a IPA convert.
Haven't tried that one yet, we have a Ballast Point IPA called Fish Eye out here which is local and quite tasty, carries about 8% ABV, so it's not for the Coors Light crowd out there (you know who you are)
Mucous: Will trade IPA for Purple Kush. Not that I have any idea what that is. Wink wink, nudge nudge. Say no more. Say no more.
Bubbling is down to every 45 seconds now. Another day or two to clarify, then transfer to the secondary. Probably will bottle by next Friday. Two weeks for bubbles. Will be premature by July 4th, but I hear you have no problem with that.
Hmm, what to brew next???
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