News Roundup

In the couple of weeks since I posted last, I've been pretty busy. Most things that have kept me busy have nothing to do with brewing. I have managed to keep things going so that I don't get too far behind. This is my roundup of the activities of a couple of weeks.

First in line was the test tasting of my Red Ale. This was ten days ago, I admit. I had expected to post the results, but I didn't get to it until now. When I poured it into the glass, it foamed up nicely. It was clear and there were no floating residues, which I always expect to find in my own brews. I haven't found any yet, for some reason. Anyway, it had a hint of hops in the aromaMy first taste was a surprise. It had a sharp edge to it, and a dryness like wine. It was a crisp tasting brew, without any unpleasant aftertaste. The alcohol factor was satisfying, and two bottles left me fe3eling quite warm. All in all, I am very happy with the recipe and my own ability to bring it all together.

I went to a local brewing oragnization meeting. I'm thinking about joining. This was my second meeting, the first having been two months ago. I learn quite a lot about some of the things which you don't get from mixing ingredients together according to a set of instructions. For instance, there is a way to test for alcohol content. This requires a sample to be taken at the time it is brewed, and another when it is bottled. This is called a specific gravity test. A small quantity of wort, which is beer before fermentation, is placed in a cylinder, and a measuring instrument is placed in it. The instrument floats in the sample, and you read the specific gravity from it. The test is repeated at bottling time, and comparing the two results will give you a fairly accurate measure of the alcohol content of your beer.

My Heffeweizen went into the bottles last week, and will be ready for drinking about the middle of April. I will probably down a couple of them after I do my taxes. The Pale Ale which I brewed last went into the secondary fermenter to settle for a few days. I left it in the primary for a week longer than I usually do, so I will shorten its time in the secondary, and get it into some bottles in a couple of days.

I'm down to a six-pack each of my first brew, Amber Ale, and my second brew, Brown Ale. I still have a little over a case of Red Ale. The Heff is about ten days away, and the Pale is three weeks away. Then, I will start my sixth brew, which is a Newcastle Brown Ale clone. I will call it Brown Ale II, and compare it with a real Newcastle when I open it.

That's the roundup. I'll be back in a couple of days, after I bottle a batch and begin another.