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Do snakes have butts?
Mar. 20th, 2011 05:48 pmBack when I started this DW, I had a plan to focus on beer brewing. The implementation of that plan has been spotty at best, but I soldier on.
Here's the update on the status of beer in this house. Normally, we have a little more than a hundred gallons of beer in the works, all at different levels of completion. Right now we're down to the low 80's in the inventory, and ten gallons of that is reserved for Minicon. Oh noes! We're nearly out of beer!
Here's what happened. The cold basement has slowed fermentation down a bit, quite a few beers were pokey about finishing. The Girl is now 21, and we gave away a bit for her and her friends. Finally, the Minicon room party at Marscon gobbled up five gallons of Liberty Cream Ale, plus some growlerized odds and ends. The Liberty Cream would have been converted to "Butterbeer," which I don't like, though it's very popular among people who don't like beer. As a Cream Ale, it's really good, and it was a hit with all the beer drinkers. We'll definitely make that one again, and not as Butterbeer.
The odds and ends included some mead, some wine and some singles of our stronger flavored beers. The odds and ends were a premium for the party volunteers, or for people who purchase Minicon Memberships at Marscon.
Based on feedback from that party, it has been determined that still mead is less nasty than carbonated mead. The bottled, carbonated mead left from that first batch might taste better in another year, we'll give it more time. The six gallon batch that's ready to be bottled soon will probably remain uncarbonated. I'm still not a fan of mead. If we ever make some that I like, we'll have to pick up another six gallon carboy so that we can consistently have some in the works, because the stuff takes at least two years to make.
Here's what's going on with the rest. Our annual lager this year is a Czech Pilsner. It's about ready to be bottled. Hopefully, it will taste something like Elephant Beer when it's done.
We're also diligently catching up in the inventory. We recently brewed a Taddy Porter, and yesterday we made "Admiral Akbeer's It's A Trappist." The second one is based on something I saw on John Kovalic's Twitter, so it's bound to be good. There's also an IPA made with Cascade Hops (a variety of hops that is common in North America), and a Scottish Ale in the belly of the snake. If we're abusing the metaphor appropriately, those are both getting close to the butt end of the snake.
This summer, we'll probably make some thing similar to Leinenkugel's "Summer Shandy." All that's involved is a simple wheat beer with the yeasties killed, and then that's mixed with lemonade. It's tasty, but not very beer-snobbish. It'll be a fair trade off for those people who were disappointed over the loss of the Butterbeer.
We have one open primary right now. As soon as something gets bottled, we'll have another. Next up, probably a few old standard favorites. A Grand Cru, A Hex Nut Brown Ale, and a Java Stout.
Here's the update on the status of beer in this house. Normally, we have a little more than a hundred gallons of beer in the works, all at different levels of completion. Right now we're down to the low 80's in the inventory, and ten gallons of that is reserved for Minicon. Oh noes! We're nearly out of beer!
Here's what happened. The cold basement has slowed fermentation down a bit, quite a few beers were pokey about finishing. The Girl is now 21, and we gave away a bit for her and her friends. Finally, the Minicon room party at Marscon gobbled up five gallons of Liberty Cream Ale, plus some growlerized odds and ends. The Liberty Cream would have been converted to "Butterbeer," which I don't like, though it's very popular among people who don't like beer. As a Cream Ale, it's really good, and it was a hit with all the beer drinkers. We'll definitely make that one again, and not as Butterbeer.
The odds and ends included some mead, some wine and some singles of our stronger flavored beers. The odds and ends were a premium for the party volunteers, or for people who purchase Minicon Memberships at Marscon.
Based on feedback from that party, it has been determined that still mead is less nasty than carbonated mead. The bottled, carbonated mead left from that first batch might taste better in another year, we'll give it more time. The six gallon batch that's ready to be bottled soon will probably remain uncarbonated. I'm still not a fan of mead. If we ever make some that I like, we'll have to pick up another six gallon carboy so that we can consistently have some in the works, because the stuff takes at least two years to make.
Here's what's going on with the rest. Our annual lager this year is a Czech Pilsner. It's about ready to be bottled. Hopefully, it will taste something like Elephant Beer when it's done.
We're also diligently catching up in the inventory. We recently brewed a Taddy Porter, and yesterday we made "Admiral Akbeer's It's A Trappist." The second one is based on something I saw on John Kovalic's Twitter, so it's bound to be good. There's also an IPA made with Cascade Hops (a variety of hops that is common in North America), and a Scottish Ale in the belly of the snake. If we're abusing the metaphor appropriately, those are both getting close to the butt end of the snake.
This summer, we'll probably make some thing similar to Leinenkugel's "Summer Shandy." All that's involved is a simple wheat beer with the yeasties killed, and then that's mixed with lemonade. It's tasty, but not very beer-snobbish. It'll be a fair trade off for those people who were disappointed over the loss of the Butterbeer.
We have one open primary right now. As soon as something gets bottled, we'll have another. Next up, probably a few old standard favorites. A Grand Cru, A Hex Nut Brown Ale, and a Java Stout.
