Three Batches Later

Where do I start?

I guess the first question is whatever happened with the Bass? First the pour. Still darker than Bass, aroma was right. Then the taste. Yeasty, but in a fresh bread kind of way. A bit of a bite. Nice malty...sweetness. Adequate. Clean finish. Need another sip. The sweetness is not the caramel flavor, and kind of subltle. Very adequate!

As it turns out, it wasn't as good as the ESB. But it was very drinkable. It seemed to take on more of the caramel flavor you get with Bass when the temperature rose. So it could be consumed either way.

In the meantime, I made another venture outside the world of kits and used a recipe from Food Network's Alton Brown. In his show "Good Eats", Alton Brown features an episode called "Amber Waves". After watching this initially around 3 years ago, I was left with the feeling that I could brew beer. My wife got me a mini kit from Bed Bath & Beyond. In 4 short weeks I would have a six pack of beer!!

I made my wort per the instructions, cooled it, added my powdered yeast and..... nothing. No bubbling, no fermenting. It actually took a month or two before I came to the realization that it probably wasn't going to happen. The "I can do it" feeling subsided, and the idea faded with time.

Thank God for TiVo. A couple years later I got the bug again when I reviewed "Amber Waves" from the DVR (you think I'm a packrat with the shows, you should see my garage). This time, I hinted Santa might look at a big boy brew kit, and I even stopped by my local beer store and picked up a brochure to help clarify the hint. And I circled the kit in the brochure. Then brought it to her attention. Twice.

Anyways, here is the recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-brew-recipe/index.html

Some of the user reviews are a bit rough, regarding his process, but the important thing he impresses on you is the necessity for being fanatical about sanitation.

So I used his recipe. I meant to get light liquid malt extract, but I accidentally got extra light. Also the recipe called for Crystal Malt but was not more specific. I used 40L.

Fast forward 2 weeks, and one of my friends, Marcos, is flying in from Alaska for his birthday (for accuracy's sake, his birthday is the day after Christmas, however he has rejected this and replaces it with the Oakland A's season home opener). He has requested IPA. "It's all I drink" he writes.

So Saturday I bottle the Alton and on Sunday I brew the IPA. I could have gone two directions. There was a Brittish IPA, that is brewed using oak chips, and there is an American IPA that has a nice full flavor with a fruity finish. I like the idea of the oak chips, but I have kicked this thing off with 3 consecutive Brittish recipes, so I decide to go with the American IPA.

After brewing and cleaning up, I am feeling brewer's fatigue, and decide to take a break from brewing. I decide I may try the Brittish IPA or something completely different. In a few weeks.

Two weeks later, the Alton Amber is ready. First taste, very hoppy. A bit bitter, and kind of a watery finish. Company is coming over Friday with expectations (that I set) of fresh home brew. That Thursday, it is the same way. There is a bitterness and still a lack of body.

In the meantime, I have discovered that the few bottles of ESB that I had hid away, had lost some of their hoppyness, and there was kind of an odd taste that I could only classify as "old". I had been saving these for special occasions, and now they were stale and past their prime.

Strike Two. It's Friday.

I open the Alton, and it's simply a different beer. The hoppy bitterness has blended into a nice sharp bite and a very flavorful malty finish. Smooth, and body is well provided by the equilibrium of malt and hops. Day saved. The lesson learned is that 3 weeks in the bottle is better than two. A beer is just not ready until it is ready. I recommend this recipe.

The larger Martinelli's bottles are lagging behind. In fact with both the Bass and the Alton, the flavor is a little different in these dark green bottles. Not as crisp. I decide they are good for bottling soda, but not beer. I vow to replace them and never to use them again.

I make a run to BevMo looking for brown swing tops, find that Groelsh is bottling beer again, and find a few other swing's to bottle with.

But for the IPA it is too late. I have a wife and two kids, no longer in college, no longer young, and am unable to consume enough beer before bottling day. So the Martinelli's bottles go back into service.

Next post will cover a discussion with a neighbor that turned into a resolution, and Marcos arrives from Alaska. Will the IPA be ready? Will it turn out OK? Will he be thawed out enough to drink it??? You'll just have to wait. It'll be shorter that 3 months this time, though.