4/21/10

here is the status of each beer i have going individually:

coffee stout - this has been bottled since april ninth. i've opened a few to share with good company, and to see how it is conditioning the bottle. so far the coffee is absolutely dominating the other flavors. now... this may be seen as undesirable by some looking for a balanced dark stout with hints of coffee, but i was never really going for that. i steeped a pound of whole foods extra dark french roast for fifteen minutes after boiling. my coffee can never be black enough. this beer is a dark coffee lovers dream. i imagine the coffee flavor mellowing as it ages the next few weeks, just creating an even more complex brew.

pale ale with juniper and kaffir lime - i had a terrible time brewing this. i added my finishing hops when i intended to add the juniper and lime, i dropped many items in the wort, and it took me over eight hours to cool the wort. in addition to that in my rush to pitch the yeast at a bearable temperature, i forgot to take a specific gravity reading (meaning i will not know the abv). all and all i was pissed, and worried. this last saturday i moved it into a glass carboy and took a sample to see how fermentation was coming. the specific gravity was very low (meaning it is as good as done), and it tasted approximately as i originally intended! hopefully bottling tomorrow! very excited!

summer wheat ale - this was brewed just last evening (4/19). everything went smooth for the most part. this is my first recipe completely created on my own (with the help of a few similar ideas). i didn't use enough water with my grains or in my wort, but it wasn't a big deal. when i ended up having to add water to fill the carboy to five gallons i forgot to mix the wort so i ended up with a dark brown mixture on the bottom with light sugary water on top, meaning i again do not have an initial specific gravity reading, and will not know the true abv of this beer. checking up on it today the yeast evened out the color and is just raging up a storm. except some bright flavors from this. i used probably close to a quarter of a pound of various zest....

i am trying to figure out what to make next. two front runners are a hoppy red (think odell's red), or another batch of juniper lime pale ale. thoughts? suggestions? thanks...

-alex