BeerBorg

BlackDuck wrote:My thoughts: Brew the f$&@ out of it!!


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So let it be written, so let it be done. I'm gonna done it!

Got up early, and I'm done (except for washing the kettle out). Numbers were very good and I ended at 1.053 with the exact volume I needed. I did have a higher ph than I wanted as I'm still trying to dial in with the software. EZ is definitely closer for me. I wanted 5.42 and ended up at 5.49 though it did show 5.4 for a bit so I don't know what the hay is going on. The meter is good as it was calibrated at matched my tap ph but it's still in a good range though I would have liked it better. The suggested IPA numbers are all over the map when I search though most say between 5.2 and 5.5 but there's a big difference there. I'm a bit high and I know it will take some bite and aroma away from this beer but hey, I'll just keep brewing it until it's perfect.
And, while it's been hell-hot here the last few days, today wasn't painfully bad thanks to cloud cover and some breeze, so Father's Day started off pretty good!

Consider thse to be like ultrasound pics:

Cold crashing, STC-1000 at work


My SS BrewBucket tucked nicely inside the chest freezer


Tomorrow night is keg/bottle time!

Can't wait to hear what you think of the final product. Mine is kegged, gassed and ready to go. I just need to kill off one of the other kegs so I can tap it.

Mine is smelling good in primary. Still bubbling away. Only took 4 hours for for fermentation to start with an uber healthy dose of yeast.
It told me it's looking forward to the 6 oz of dry hops late next week.

BlackDuck wrote:Can't wait to hear what you think of the final product. Mine is kegged, gassed and ready to go. I just need to kill off one of the other kegs so I can tap it.

It is is as good as the first batch, I'll be pleased! And since it got your stamp of approval I'm like this -->

Kegged and bottled last night (2.5G each).
I racked 1/2 into my 3.5G SS BrewBucket Mini to act as a bottling bucket and the other half went straight into a keg. Between those three items and the bottles, there was a lot of gear in my kitchen last night - I should have taken a picture.

I'm a *bit* concerned because the tubing was causing some bubbling during the racking to the keg so I need to figure out why for next time and cross my fingers that I didn't aerate it too much this time. I guess I'll just have to drink it quickly so it never gets a chance to oxidize.

One week in and I've hit terminal gravity at 1.011. Seems a bit dry to me though but I can never really tell at this point. I could speed this up and dry hop and cold crash then keg by next weekend and make this a 2 week grain to glass but I need the time to finish a keg so why rush. I'll chill a bit and then bring it back to 68 to dry hop, followed by a cold crash then a keg and let it do it's thang.

Ron, I had a tub for my auto siphon that was just a tad bit bigger than the siphon and it had some air farts but it never caused a problem. I've sinced gotten the correct size hose but it was not something I felt comfy with. I think we all worry a bit too much about oxidation but who knows. We can do everything right and the beer sucks or do everything wrong and the beer is excellent so go figure.

I just realized that I forgot to post the first pour that I did the other day. Here it is, after clearing the crap from the bottom of the keg of course. Just as good has the first time. The aroma is just outstanding. And the flavor is all American IPA. Just yummy.

And some sexy legs too.



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Stop it! You're turning me on with those legs.

*rawr*

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This is good! It still needs a few more days in the keg to get it together but while not an 'blow me away' beer, it's simplistic and tasty and simply freaking good! Its not braggadocious, just what it appears to be. I like it best after it's been in the glass for about 20 minutes.

You let your beer stick around for 20 minutes once it's poured? That's alcohol abuse.

I do tend to like my beers after about 10 minutes or so, too. It needs time to warm up just a bit. I could adjust my kegerator temp but then I have to start playing with psi and tube length again so they are going to stay just where they are.

I'm drinking mine now, too and will post a good picture this weekend.

I sometimes test a beer by trying it cold, medium and warm to see how each taste. Most of mine are about the same at cold, medium and warm. But I don't really mean warm, I just mean less cold but I guess you know that already.
But, if I wanted to drink something fast, I'd drink water. I like to take my time with beer sometimes. No rush, life is good!

I brewed my session version of this Saturday. I adjusted the grain a bit to increase the ABV from 4.8 to 5.3. I'm hoping that a little more grain will give it a bit more backbone for the hop character to last a little longer. I remember in the past that the hop aroma and flavor faded fairly quick on the session version. Then, as I was watching Live PD Saturday night, a thought popped in my head. Maybe I'll haze this up a bit and make it a little more east coastish. The recipe calls for 2.75 ounces of each of Simcoe and Amarillo. I'll split that and add some during the primary fermentation. So this morning, I checked and she was bubbling away. So I added 1 ounce of each. When I added the hops, they floated on top of the foam though. I didn't want to stir it, in fear of adding any nasties and causing an infection, so I let it go. I'm guessing they will dissolve in during the day, I'll check it out this evening when I get home from work.