Today I racked my Hoppy Gnome IPA off the yeast cake and onto the substantial amount of dry hops. It’s almost reached the target FG, looks great, smells great, tastes great. The citra hops smell amazing. This is going to be a good one. In about two months….
I had a pint of this (Volume 1: Foreign Stout) on my recent visit to Rattle N Hum. I am completely in love with this beer. I literally had a dream about it the other night. Thick head, big malty front end, thick but not syrupy, and a long, boozy, peppery finish. And peppery. Did I mention peppery? One of the nicest beers I have ever had. Kudos to the folks at Left Hand.
I finally was able to get over to the mid-30’s to visit a classic NYC beer bar, Rattle N Hum.
Immediately upon walking in the door, we overhear a passionate argument about whether Victory or Lagunitas is a better brewery. Feels like home. Continue reading
Today I brewed the first version of my Hoppy Gnome IPA. It’s a modified version of a Green Flash West Coast IPA clone that I made a few months ago (the clone was actually my first all-grain batch and was very successful). I dropped the amount of 60L crystal to lighten the color a bit, and swapped out some of the late hops for Citra. I hope this will give it a softer hop profile. Continue reading
I finally got around to bottling my oatmeal stout this week. Because I have been sick and still don’t have a lot of energy, I split the bottling work between two days (one half-batch per day). Continue reading
Yesterday I ordered supplies for version 2 of my Gimp Biscuit ESB. I made some major revisions to the original (which I liked a lot but was quite a bit off-style). Following recommendations from Ray Daniels Designing Great Beers (as well as feedback from my own taste buds), I wanted to make this beer: Continue reading
It was a very Beery Christmas at our house. I received a lot of beer- and brewing-related gifts: a gift card to Midwest Homebrew, enough to pay for the ingredients for the next iteration of my Gimp Biscuit ESB; carboy covers complete with “Shh. I am Fermenting” embroidery; carboy draining and storage racks; a membership in the American Homebrewers Association, complete with a subscription to their monthly magazine Zymergy; a Christmas Story pint glass; a rare Belgian made with “wild” yeast. Thanks to wife Olivia, mother Marsha, brother Matt, and inlaws Don and Carolyn for supporting my addiction, er, hobby. Continue reading
The Oatmeal Stout brew also gave me a chance to try out my new maple mash paddle, which was a birthday gift from my in-laws (thanks again to Don and Carolyn). It worked much better than the long-handled plastic spoon I’ve been using, with less stress on my wrist and much less incidents of dough-balls and hot spots. I highly recommend!
Today I brewed my Ghostly Juror Oatmeal Stout. The brew went very well. I missed the mash-in about a degree and a half on the low side (meaning the beer will end up a little boozy). But I hit my target gravities and volumes dead-on. Continue reading
My Black Friday brewing supplies order has arrived! If all goes as planned, I should be able to brew my Ghostly Juror Oatmeal Stout on Monday.