Sunday, November 6, 2011

Brew Day

I'm sitting here, sipping an IPA and waiting for a kettle of water to get near to boiling. My grain is in the bag, and the malt extract is standing by. My latest brew is going to be a rather random brew, an Amber Ale with a little extra hops. The recipe is 1.5 lbs of Crystal Barley and .5 lbs of malted wheat. I'm using 6 lbs of Amber Malt Extract and a combination of Cascade and Mt. Hood Hops. I purchased these ingredients as part of my Pumpkin Ale brew from last month, and some extra barley and extract to make a second batch.

Speaking of the Pumpkin Ale, in my last installment, I detailed my brewing of my very first such ale, using a recipe from the Internet, and modifying it slightly for my own creative tastes. About a week ago, I transferred it to the secondary fermenter for settling and clarifying. It smells wonderful, all of the ginger and cinnamon, and the pumpkin. It is now about a week from bottling, and will be drank during December. I have never tried a Pumpkin Ale, because it seemed like a nasty idea, but I have totally changed my mind. I plan on buying a six-pack of a commercial brand to taste-test when the time comes.

The water is not quite boiling, so, the grain bag is in, and will steep for 30 or 45 minutes.

The IPA I'm drinking is a Ranger, from New Belgium Brewing company, of Fort Collins, Colorado. Fort Collins is where the National Institute of Science and Technology broadcasts the WWVB time signal that keeps automatic clocks up to date. Ranger is a dry and hoppy IPA with a crisp flavor and a refreshing hoppy edge to it. It has a very slight but not unpleasant aftertaste. I like it, and buy it regularly. I only have the one, so my second will be a Racer 5 IPA from Bear Republic Brewing Company of Sonoma County in California. I find it to be pretty tasty, but a little bit too hoppy for regular drinking. I prefer the Ranger over the Racer 5.

In a short while, I will have to turn on the fire and add the extract. After I bring the beer to a boil, I will put in the first of the hops, and over the next hour, I will add a little more hops. Altogether, I expect to use an ounce of hops, so as not to over-hop the brew. I checked on oxygenation techniques, which no one told me about just yet, but I figured it out on my own. I definitely want to make sure the wort is oxygenated before pitching the yeast. This was something I may have been remiss about in previous brews, but apparently yeast likes to start out in a rather oxygen-rich environment, which helps it reach population numbers before it goes into a more anaerobic mode where it produces most of the alcohol.

In a few days, I will be back here to report on the bottling of the Pumpkin ale, and as to how this brew is progressing. Meanwhile, I have to get back to work, the mixture is coming to a boil and I have to stay close for the rest of the process.

No comments:

Post a Comment