090905 - 6A v.3.0 Cream Ale brewed...

This is my first Cream Ale since I completed the American Amber Ale series.

This beer has a corn adjunct (Corn meal). Prep work began AROUND 8:15 AM. Prep work: Cook 2lbs corn meal in a pressure cooker for 15 min. at 10 lbs. in 5-1/2 quarts water which was drawn from 8 quarts in a bucket. After finished cooking added cornmeal to remaining of 8 quarts water in the bucket and stirred til it was mostly homogenized. Added the final 1.2 quart of water to achieve 101°F, within 1° of goal. Placed barley and wheat into Mash bucked and added the corn/water mix, stirring to include all but the bottom inch of grist. This worked to prevent a stuck mash, as I had hoped! NOTE: Next time, heat corn and water over MED heat in cooker and stir to keep in flux, and when it is starting to steam, put the lid on the pressure cooker! This batch burned on the bottom but I didn't use the burned parts.

Started brewing at 9:30 when mash was started in tun.

Boil began at 1:20 PM: Volume Into Boiler: 7 g. Next time, add 1/2G. water to at 60 min. OG Into Boiler: 1.032 @ 144°F = 1.048 OG

4 g. sparge;
Had to do a decoction, 6 qt. thin mash, to bring up to mash out temp.

I use a large muslin bag that is normally used to remove seeds and husks from grape pressings to separate most of the hops and crap from the wort. After cooling, I line the bottling bucket with the bag and pour the contents of the kettle into the bucket, then remove the bag with all of the toss-ables in it.

Tapped, to using my false bottom in the bottling bucket, (This works well) into Primary. Pitched the 2nd generation of the yeast that I saved from my V3.0 of American Amber Ale. Will save this last generation of yeast after primary, before buying new vial.

I have 4.5 gallons of beer in the primary bubbling merrily away. A nice brew session with very little clean up necessary to floors & driveway...

Tasting AAA v2.1.1

Tastes pretty good. Well balanced between bitterness and malt sweetness. Nice aroma of Cascades hops. I give it a 49 out of 50 points. Because I SAID so, that's why!

Time to re-stoke the fridge with a couple cases of this tasty nectar!

I bottled the v3.0 this morning before going to work and discovered (file that under 'Duh')that I can download templates into Word for the stickers that I put onto the caps to ID the beer. I can also put the date and the version level at 10 point text. Sweet!No more marking with cheesy markers of dubious freshness. Bwa-haha. maybe I should use a smaller font and add the ABV. A story for the next batch.

I was going to brew a new batch of Cream Ale on my day off but the High Command vetoed that on Dog reasons. Dog Zeppo. I humbly acquiesced.

Cream Ale 06.B v3.0

I'll try to brew another batch of Cream Ale on my day off, Tuesday. Trish likes it and so do I, and I have the reserved yeast that I took from the Primary fermenter of my American Amber Ale in the fridge that can be used for Cream Ale. I want to get this recipe nailed down as I have for the AAA. More as it happens....

August meeting was a hoot

While we arrived 2 hours late, we did manage to see the Tech Talk portion of the show on gravity readings. Two members discussed and demonstrated the proper use of hydrometers and optical measuring tools. Was interesting and sparked lively debate from the floor. I picked up a few pointers that will be useful.

The food table looked like it was hit by a swarm of locusts in a plague by the time we got there but there was enough to graze upon including my chili, which was all gone in an hour or so. We all had opportunity to sample a beer or two that Doug brought back from the far reaches of the Empire while on business trips, and there was of course, much beer to be snarffed down. A good meeting all in all!

The AAA in the secondary that is still dry hopping is pretty well saturated with hops. Today I believe that I will introduce the gelatin wash to help clear it for bottling. Bottling should be around the last of August, or first part of September. By that time 10B.v2.1.1 should be ready to sample, and hopefully be ready for the September meeting.

I replaced a case of the Biere de Garde on the cellaring shelves to sit for another two months. It is still a little sweeter than I would hope it would be for dissemination. I'd better plan another brew session for the end of August or first part of September... What will it be? Hmmmm.....

Bwa-hahaha! What a find!

I bottled the American Amber Ale the other day and as I was putting the cases on the rack that I use for bottle storage and for cellaring, what should I see but 1-3/4 cases of Biere de Garde that I bottled a couple months ago! I'd forgotten about them! I do recall that I wanted to cellar that beer a little longer... and it looks like I did. It tastes a little heavy on the hop bitterness but the malty sweetness isn't cloying, and it is very nice. Will pair well with BBQ or sumptin' spicy, I'm sure. I'm going to make BBQ or Chili for the Brew Club meeting on Saturday so I'll take plenty of this! Bwa-haha!

10B v3.0 in Secondary

I racked the next version of 10B to the secondary the other day. The hops are a-floating in the neck of the carboy and no secondary fermenting is visible as was the case with 2.1.1 when I placed it in the secondary. I'll leave this batch in for about three weeks or so, depending upon how fast the hops descend to the bottom. The last batch was in secondary for about 30 some days.

Day Three 10B 3.0

The fermentation is still bubbling away merrily, and though I used a blow off tube rather than an airlock, I will keep the tube just in case it takes off with a life of its' own. A little joke there: it has a life of its' own, millions of them, the yeastie beasties. I only have about a half-dozen bomber bottles left of the first batch left in the fridge and I am meting them out as if they are precious. I gave one to Luke at the VEC, because he is a friend and I've been promising him some beer all year - but haven't made the time to follow thru on my word. Now, I've kept my word. I'll have to go to the VEC today to follow up on re-applying for assistance in locating a job and I'll see what he thought about it. I like the feedback, good or bad. It's a brewer's thang... you understand.

I added the gelatin to the batch in the Secondary fermenter yesterday. Gelatin will capture particulates that make your beer hazy and deposit them in they yeast bed in the bottom of the fermenter. Occasionally a gob will get sucked into the racking cane when you are bottling and that last swallow of yeasty beer in the bottom of the bottle contains what seems like is a booger. A strange feeling to be sure! Mmmmm.... Booger beer!