BeerBorg

I'm getting kind of bummed. My pipeline just hasn't been able to get built up this season. I've done too many batches that required more time to mature, and had a couple of gusher batches that I had to discard. It's been making me a little crazy.

But I think next week, I'm going to just take it easy and find a simple recipe that I can put together easily and know that in a short time, I'll have an enjoyable beer. Maybe a cream ale or a simple blonde with a little dark specialty grain and some unusual hops for intrigue. Then I can start to plan my summer recipes, so the pipeline will be robust and full of good beer for the grilling/BBQ season.

I've been putting too much pressure on myself.

I find a 60 or 70 shilling Scottish ale nice and refreshing and they are easy to brew. 8 or 9 pounds of either Marris Otter, or Golden Promise, toss in a couple ounces of roasted barley for color, and maybe a half a pound of crystal/caramel malt for a little added sweetness and wala, a nice smooth very drinkable session beer. I like to use an ounce of goldings or fuggles. I generally FWH and do a one hour boil.

I ran some stuff through QBrew, and I think I'm going to do a cream ale. I'll probably have good low-60s temps in the basement by the time I'm ready to ferment it, and this will be a quick, easy, 2.5 AG batch. Nothing spectacular, but a crisp, easy drinking beer.

Dave,

If you want/need a quick and easy brew day that will turn around a good session pale ale, check out the 15-minute recipe.

Thanks, Ron, but I've got a couple of highly-hopped beers working already, so I think a cream ale will provide a nice contrast. But I'll be sure to check out that recipe.