owner: Michael Erwin | started: 02/23/2008 | last updated: 06/03/2008
Recipe: Edwin Sandys Bitter (ESB) | status: Finished
This brew is based on the Palace Bitter in Papazian's book. But, I upped the malt and upped the hops to keep up with the malt, pushing it into the ESB range. Plus, I changed the hops around, b/c I didn't want to use low-alpha and hard-to-get Fuggles to bitter this one. Newport is a good choice for this purpose.
This brew is named after a direct ancestor, an Archbishop of York whose theological leanings played an integral part of the Separatist movement some of whose members eventually became the Pilgrim Fathers. Also, this is the connection to Scrooby Manor, after which I've named my brewery.
2/28/2008 - OG: 1.057 I dumped off about 2/3s of the slurry from the previous batch (Irish Red) and just dumped this in the carboy. Who knows what will happen?
[same day, pt 2] - Just checked carboy, this thing has been active for at least an hour, which means it started less than 3 hrs after pitching.
3/1/2008 - Fermentation has slowed. I blew off almost a gallon of beer! I don't like that. Lots of slurry in the bottom. Racked to bucket, cleaned carboy, and racked back to carboy. So, now I am utilizing a secondary for the first time. SG: 1.017, so it's pretty much done. I'll let it sit until Wednesday or Thursday.
3/5/2008 - SG: 1.015. Apparent attenuation: 74%. Bottled at 5.5% ABV, which is the strongest I've made yet. Reduced the DME to 1 cup to get a little less carb in the English style of this brew. I got 7 bottles less than 2 cases b/c of the extreme blow-off. Tastes really good. Harvested two bottles of G3 yeast, capped and fridged.
3/27/2008 - I've been drinking this one for a couple of weeks. Good beer, with moderate bitterness and good flavor and aroma, great light amber color. Very enjoyable brew.
4/16/2008 - Has really matured into a fine beer. Definitely needs some time in the bottle for the flavor to coalesce.
6/3/2008 - This one's gone now. It needs to make a reappearance in the near future.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Irish Red Ale - 3
owner: Michael Erwin | started: 02/11/2008 | last updated: 05/26/2008
Recipe: | status: Finished
2/21/2008 - Pitched 9:30 PM, with OG: 1.050.
2/22/2008 - Activity started some time this afternoon.
2/23/2008 - Blow-off done this morning. Surprisingly quick, I hope everything's working.
2/28/2008 - SG: 1.018. Apparent attenuation: 64%. Seems like the yeast has given up. Should use secondary fermentation, but I don't have the equipment. So, I bottled it anyway. The hydro sample (always finds its way into my mouth!) was incredible. It was exactly what I expected an Irish Red to be, except 10 times better. Looking forward to this one. Harvested 2 bottles of G2 yeast, stored in garage with s-locks.
3/6/2008 - Great beer, with a nice bitter bite. A little on the heavy side, definitely should've used 2ndary.
3/27/2008 - This has matured into an awesome Irish Red Ale. The hop profile is aggressive for this style, so much so that I might call it an Irish-American Red Ale :) Still a bit heavy, but definitely this recipe will be used again, with some modifications.
4/11/2008 - Only four bottles left, and saving them for a special occasion later this summer. I hate to see this one go!!! Boo hoo. I can't wait to try this one again and get it right. It was so good as imperfect as it was.
Recipe: | status: Finished
2/21/2008 - Pitched 9:30 PM, with OG: 1.050.
2/22/2008 - Activity started some time this afternoon.
2/23/2008 - Blow-off done this morning. Surprisingly quick, I hope everything's working.
2/28/2008 - SG: 1.018. Apparent attenuation: 64%. Seems like the yeast has given up. Should use secondary fermentation, but I don't have the equipment. So, I bottled it anyway. The hydro sample (always finds its way into my mouth!) was incredible. It was exactly what I expected an Irish Red to be, except 10 times better. Looking forward to this one. Harvested 2 bottles of G2 yeast, stored in garage with s-locks.
3/6/2008 - Great beer, with a nice bitter bite. A little on the heavy side, definitely should've used 2ndary.
3/27/2008 - This has matured into an awesome Irish Red Ale. The hop profile is aggressive for this style, so much so that I might call it an Irish-American Red Ale :) Still a bit heavy, but definitely this recipe will be used again, with some modifications.
4/11/2008 - Only four bottles left, and saving them for a special occasion later this summer. I hate to see this one go!!! Boo hoo. I can't wait to try this one again and get it right. It was so good as imperfect as it was.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Scottish Sixty-One - 2
owner: Michael Erwin | started: 02/02/2008 | last updated: 05/26/2008
status: Finished
3.3# NB Gold liquid malt extract
1# Light spraymalt
4 oz. Brown Sugar
12 oz. Crystal 40°L
4 oz. Chocolate Malt
8 oz. Maltodextrin
.5 oz. Newport 10% (45 min)
2 oz. dried oak chips
Wyeast 1728 (69-73% atten)
This is a 60/- Scottish brew, but I've added oak chips to give it an additional flavor. So, it's a bit more expensive, say, one shilling more, hence, 61/-.
2/14/2008 - boiled and pitched today. Actual OG: 1.038. Waiting for fermentation.
2/15/2008 - We have lift-off, or I should say, blow-off.
2/16/2008 - Blow-off done. Switched to airlock.
2/19/2008 - SG: 1.013.
2/20/2008 - SG: 1.012. Apparent attenuation: 68%.
2/21/2008 - Bottled today. Had a funky flavor that was kind of a bourbon-type taste, I'm guessing from the oak chips. I hope that calms down a bit in the bottle.
2/27/2008 - oh, wow! Put a bottle in the fridge last night and pulled it out tonight. The funky bourbon flavor has subsided to an oak aftertaste which adds a perfect little surprise at the end of a sip. Carbonation is higher than I want, & no head retention to speak of. But, I'm certainly not throwing it out, as I thought I would be as I was bottling. Not very clear, next time try Irish moss.
3/10/2008 - The oak flavor, which at times has seemed overwhelming, is really mellowing out now, making this a pretty good beer. Not great, but decent.
3/12/2008 - wow, I don't get it. Things keep getting better with this brew. Tonight it had a 1.5" head for a couple of minutes, which started disintegrating from the outside (heavy carb underneath), leaving like an island of head! Weird. And, the oak flavor has become a faint hint, making this a great beer. So, maybe it just needed three weeks in the bottle to mature.
5/26/2008 - Boiled today's brats in the last bottle. A fitting end to a beer I will never make again.
status: Finished
3.3# NB Gold liquid malt extract
1# Light spraymalt
4 oz. Brown Sugar
12 oz. Crystal 40°L
4 oz. Chocolate Malt
8 oz. Maltodextrin
.5 oz. Newport 10% (45 min)
2 oz. dried oak chips
Wyeast 1728 (69-73% atten)
This is a 60/- Scottish brew, but I've added oak chips to give it an additional flavor. So, it's a bit more expensive, say, one shilling more, hence, 61/-.
2/14/2008 - boiled and pitched today. Actual OG: 1.038. Waiting for fermentation.
2/15/2008 - We have lift-off, or I should say, blow-off.
2/16/2008 - Blow-off done. Switched to airlock.
2/19/2008 - SG: 1.013.
2/20/2008 - SG: 1.012. Apparent attenuation: 68%.
2/21/2008 - Bottled today. Had a funky flavor that was kind of a bourbon-type taste, I'm guessing from the oak chips. I hope that calms down a bit in the bottle.
2/27/2008 - oh, wow! Put a bottle in the fridge last night and pulled it out tonight. The funky bourbon flavor has subsided to an oak aftertaste which adds a perfect little surprise at the end of a sip. Carbonation is higher than I want, & no head retention to speak of. But, I'm certainly not throwing it out, as I thought I would be as I was bottling. Not very clear, next time try Irish moss.
3/10/2008 - The oak flavor, which at times has seemed overwhelming, is really mellowing out now, making this a pretty good beer. Not great, but decent.
3/12/2008 - wow, I don't get it. Things keep getting better with this brew. Tonight it had a 1.5" head for a couple of minutes, which started disintegrating from the outside (heavy carb underneath), leaving like an island of head! Weird. And, the oak flavor has become a faint hint, making this a great beer. So, maybe it just needed three weeks in the bottle to mature.
5/26/2008 - Boiled today's brats in the last bottle. A fitting end to a beer I will never make again.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Elbro Nerkte - 1
owner: Michael Erwin | started: 02/01/2008 | last updated: 05/23/2008
status: Finished
2/8/2008 - The gods of Firefox wiped out my notes on this one. In any case, this is my first homebrew ever, I used Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing, a recipe for Elbro Nerkte, a dark English ale. I substituted Styrian Goldings for the Fuggles. Totally fermented in five days. Bottled 49 12oz yesterday. It's really hard to wait!!!
Other notes from memory:
OG was something like 1.036-38. For some reason, lower than the book said it would be.
FG was 1.012. Apparent attenuation: 68%
Recipe:
2 cans Muntons Dark
.5# 20L Caramel
.25# black patent
1 oz Styrian Goldings 3.3% (boil)
.5 oz Cascade 5.0 (boil)
.5 oz Cascade 5.0 (aroma)
1 Tbsp Irish moss (5 minutes)
Safale US-05
Single-stage fermentation, w/ blow-off tube.
Pitched on 1/31/08 - incredibly flavorful brew; my mouth is watering just thinking about the glass I poured out of the hydro tube. extremely dark, closer to a porter color (but clearly not a porter) than a Newcastle color.
2/7/2008 - Bottled. Place in downstairs shower (dark and out of the way).
2/14/2008 - Tasted. Drinkable, but disappointing carbonation. More than likely, the downstairs shower was too cool. Moved to upstairs closet.
2/17/2008 - I'm currently moving one bottle down from the upstairs closet each day, fridging it, drinking it, and replacing with another bottle. Each day the beer is getting better, and getting more carbonation. This evening I got about a 1/4-inch head, so things are "perking up."
2/18/2008 - Carb still rising ever so slightly. After having one a night for several nights, beginning to analyze flavor. Needs more bittering. Also, very sweet beer.
2/20/2008 - Now, after nearly a week in the warmer environment, I'm getting more than a half-inch head, which I believe is allowing more of a hop aroma to come through in the first sip.
2/26/2008 - I've passed out around a dozen bottles, waiting for reviews.
5/23/2008 - Just downed the last one. Now, with just five months experience, I can say, not bad for a first brew. Easy to make, difficult to wait in the beginning, but worth it all in the end. Goes great with pizza. I think I could do this one better knowing what I know now.
status: Finished
2/8/2008 - The gods of Firefox wiped out my notes on this one. In any case, this is my first homebrew ever, I used Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing, a recipe for Elbro Nerkte, a dark English ale. I substituted Styrian Goldings for the Fuggles. Totally fermented in five days. Bottled 49 12oz yesterday. It's really hard to wait!!!
Other notes from memory:
OG was something like 1.036-38. For some reason, lower than the book said it would be.
FG was 1.012. Apparent attenuation: 68%
Recipe:
2 cans Muntons Dark
.5# 20L Caramel
.25# black patent
1 oz Styrian Goldings 3.3% (boil)
.5 oz Cascade 5.0 (boil)
.5 oz Cascade 5.0 (aroma)
1 Tbsp Irish moss (5 minutes)
Safale US-05
Single-stage fermentation, w/ blow-off tube.
Pitched on 1/31/08 - incredibly flavorful brew; my mouth is watering just thinking about the glass I poured out of the hydro tube. extremely dark, closer to a porter color (but clearly not a porter) than a Newcastle color.
2/7/2008 - Bottled. Place in downstairs shower (dark and out of the way).
2/14/2008 - Tasted. Drinkable, but disappointing carbonation. More than likely, the downstairs shower was too cool. Moved to upstairs closet.
2/17/2008 - I'm currently moving one bottle down from the upstairs closet each day, fridging it, drinking it, and replacing with another bottle. Each day the beer is getting better, and getting more carbonation. This evening I got about a 1/4-inch head, so things are "perking up."
2/18/2008 - Carb still rising ever so slightly. After having one a night for several nights, beginning to analyze flavor. Needs more bittering. Also, very sweet beer.
2/20/2008 - Now, after nearly a week in the warmer environment, I'm getting more than a half-inch head, which I believe is allowing more of a hop aroma to come through in the first sip.
2/26/2008 - I've passed out around a dozen bottles, waiting for reviews.
5/23/2008 - Just downed the last one. Now, with just five months experience, I can say, not bad for a first brew. Easy to make, difficult to wait in the beginning, but worth it all in the end. Goes great with pizza. I think I could do this one better knowing what I know now.
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