Brew Notes!

Last week I got involved with brewing again. I had taken a little time off from the hobby during (and after) our trip out to Florida, but my wife made sure to let me know that the extract kit sitting in the fridge was taking up too much space.

It's hard to say why I needed a kick in the butt to get going; I really enjoy brewing (nearly as much as I enjoy drinking). Part of it likely had to do with the fact that I didn't have many bottles, but a good friend came by and dumped a plethora of them on me. I just had to clean them out and get them ready for the beer that I had sitting in secondary.

That beer is an IPA that smelled heavenly. I'm really looking forward to getting after it in a couple of weeks. It sat in secondary for longer than any other beer I've brewed. Secondary isn't completely necessary, but it really helps the beer's clarity and adds to the time it's spent aging. My plan is not to open that beer until my wife's birthday (September 4th) but we'll see. The one that I brewed last night was called "Cream of the Crop" American Ale. This is supposed to be a lighter beer that is a little bit smoother. Based off of the ingredients and the smell/color as I brewed it, I'm pretty sure it's going to be. This morning, the airlock was already going off, so it must be working the way it's supposed to.

This was a little bit of a big step for me. Until now, I have always followed the directions that they send me very closely. This time, I didn't even have to look at them because this has become habit. I knew all of the amounts & times to add ingredients. I also knew which actions to take. This may also have been the fastest batch I've brewed. Not because it spent less time boiling, but because I am understanding my equipment better and getting more efficient at getting the wort to a boil. It also didn't take as long as I thought it would to cool the wort down afterwards. I seem to have got that system down. I could really use a wort chiller to make the process faster, but to be honest, I don't mind the time. Brewing extracts still takes way less time than brewing an all-grain brew. It is for this reason that I've decided I don't need to switch to all-grain brewing just yet. Brewing extract is comfortable and seems to fit our living situation better. It's also worth mentioning that the beer is not bad.

I have had one batch that I've been unimpressed with. I know that I brewed it and aged it appropriately, I'm just not a fan of fruit beer (much less extract fruit beer).

Anyways, Suhli has found his way back onto the Insane Horde Posse's roster and I couldn't be happier. In fact, it's a little bit of a relief to me knowing that I can be doing something that comes more natural. Less frantic......In fact, I am scheduled to be backup DPS this week...there's a good chance that I wont even be needed. I could (potentially) have an entire night off.

I bet Paola (and Heidi) would enjoy that. :P