Neues Jahr, Neues Brau

Just a quick update to keep y'all apprised of what's on the brew right now.  Thanks to my generous family, I got a couple hundred to spend on beer and games... which means that eventually I'll have a wort chiller (once Grape & Grain gets stock) but for now, more beer!  

Haven't done a lot lately (thanks to Skyrim), but I've got a couple of kits on right now.  The first one is a basic kit that I stepped up a bit - two cans of the Morgan's Stockman's Draught instead of one and sugar, and I boiled it with 1 oz. of Hallertauer for 25 min and then added 1/2 oz of Cascade for another 10.  It's currently in secondary, should be ready to bottle within the week.

Last night while the wife was knitting with her friend, I decided to do an all-grain kit.  It's called Scarlet Speedster, it's a Northwest ale and is based off the Red Racer IPA.  Decided to use Wyeast (why not!) and this is what I had to do this morning....

Wooooooooooo-eee!  Double double toil and trouble, bacteria feed and bucket bubble.

Also, I got a meat grinder, a sausage stuffer and a book on charcuterie.  So there are going to be lots of delicious preserved meats in my future.

A break from beer

One of my favourite things to do when drinking is to argue, just like one of my heroes, Christopher Hitchens.  The Hitch died yesterday, but he did not go quietly into that good night.  He fought and drank right until the very end.  I may not agree with his choice of drink (Johnny Walker Black) but I sure would be willing to stand my Maker's Mark against it and argue for hours.

Goodbye Hitch.  You'll be sorely missed.

More mead! And whores!

This has been a project since the fall, it finally cleared enough to bottle. And sample. According to the Papazian recipe, it's supposed to be ready to drink immediately after bottling. Both the wife and I agree - best mead we'd ever had. Next year may be a double or triple batch... Though we may introduce other ingredients. Sparkling pomegranate mead anyone?

An unlikely pleasure

I'm at the Investor's Group holiday dinner.. The beer is not so good (Alexander Keith's IPA is the best they have), but.... They have 30 year old Glenfiddich. So good.

The dangers of carbonation

Don't over carbonate your beer. That is all.

Double IPA

Wednesday night... which means the wife is out knitting, so I can make beer!  I'm doing an all grain kit that I picked up in the States - it's the Brewer's Best PSA IPA (a portion of sales goes to Prostate cancer research, so it's for a good cause!). It's got an IBU close to 55, which is something that I'm a fan of - hops uber alles, that's what I say.

While brewing, one must always have delicious beers.  Tonight I enjoyed a new favourite and an old favourite - first off, Muskoka Harvest Ale.  It's a rich, malty, hoppy beer, very reminiscent of the fall.  Notes of spice abound.  Then I had an Innis & Gunn - the original mind, not any of the other ones they've released.  Still as delicious as I remember, though I think I prefer the blonde more.  The original seems to have a cheaper, rougher whiskey flavour these days, not quite as refined as it used to be.  I'd imagine there are difficulties keeping up with demand.

Well, let's hope that this turns out!

Secondary

I had a fun experience today.  I drank my last two Hefeweizen (one from Tree Brewing and the other from Spinnakers Brewpub) and then drank one of my very own.  Lo and behold, mine is most assuredly better.  A bit yeastier perhaps, but much more flavourful and real.

I love craft breweries, and I honestly think that the microbrewing explosion is the best thing to happen to beer in the past 80 years, but there really is nothing better than making your own beer.  If you want to start, just get out there, buy the stuff, and follow the instructions on the label.  You'll be making better beer than you ever had before in a matter of weeks (and drinking for less than a quarter per beer!).