Beer Name: Scottish 70-Shilling Ale Brew Your Own Dec. 2001
Grains: 2 oz. Baird Peated Malt
5 oz. Carapils
5 oz. roasted barley
Malt Extract: 6 lbs. NB Amber Extract
Hops: 1 oz. Cascade 5.8% alpha
Misc.:
Yeast: Edinburgh Ale Yeast (White Labs). Made gal. starter
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 01/12/02 01/19/02 02/06/02
Gravity: 1.048 1.012 1.012
% Alcohol: 6.75 1.5 1.5
% Sugar: 12.5 3 3
Temp of reading:
Notes:
05/28/02 Came out darker than the style would dictate, I think. Flavor is good. Can definitely taste smoked malt but not too much. Smooth drink with wonderful chocolate, roasted maltiness. Not much for hops. Good beer.
10/20/02 Drank last one today (I think). Still very smoky, roasted, with a toasted chocolaty character. Still carbonated and I don t think it was going bad. Enjoyable, very smooth.
Beer Name: British Bitter (NB kit)
Grains: 1/2 lb. UK Carastan
Malt Extract: 3.3 lbs. Gold Malt Syrup
1 lb. Light DME
Hops: 1 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min)
1 oz. Kent Goldings (1-2 min)
Misc.:
Yeast: Wyeast British Ale #1098 made gallon starter
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 01/19/02 01/25/02 02/15/02
Gravity: *1.020 1.008 1.012
% Alcohol: *2 1 1.3
% Sugar: *4 2
Temp of reading: 60 68 68
Notes:
Did by myself.
* = not sure what happened with the gravity. I hope it was just a bad sample. (After this I bought a wine thief )
Had quick and active fermentation. Seemed to be complete.
1/25/02 Tastes decent. There is some hop bitterness in finish. Normal for style Bring to class and have them sample it when completed.
2/15/02 Taste is somewhat sweet and mild with noticeable hop bitterness in flavor. Not overpowering. Wonder if hops have more effect with such low malt bill.
3/02 Brought to NB and had them try. Said it actually was to style, if anything TOO sweet. But it finished low so I think all sugars were fermented.
It is very drinkable, smooth, fairly low carbonation, and goes down quick. Already have about a case gone.
Beer Name: Honey Nut Brown Ale (Northern Brewer kit)
Grains: 1/4 lb. UK Chocolate
1/4 lb. DWC Special "B"
1/4 lb. DWC Biscuit
1/4 lb. Special Roast
Malt Extract: 6 lbs. Gold Malt Syrup
Hops: 1 oz. Perle (60 min)
1 oz. Fuggle (1-2 min)
Misc.: 1 cup light Brown Sugar 15 min left in boil
2 cups Jeff s honey with 15 left in boil
Yeast: Wyeast London Ale #1028 gallon starter
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 3/26/02 04/01/02 04/16/02
Gravity: 1.060 1.011 n/c
% Alcohol: 8 1.5
% Sugar: 15 3
Temp of reading: 62 68
Notes:
04/01/02 tasted today. Alcohol aroma and taste, perhaps too much so. Didn't taste much maltiness. Wonder if honey was too much.
Have been told alcohol flavor will mellow with time.
-Tried after two weeks in bottle and not carbonated enough.
05/21/02 shoot. Too stuffed up to get a good taste. Did not taste bad (?)
This one got better over time, like first Brown ale, but had a bit of an edge, possibly due to higher alcohol from honey. A good beer. Might not use honey if make it again.
Beer Name: Fat Tire Amber Ale (clone from Beer Captured)
Grains: 8 oz Crystal (British something )
6 oz German Munich
4 oz US Victory
3 oz Belgian Biscuit steeped up to 150, then at 150 for 10 min.
Malt Extract: 4 lbs. Alexanders Pale Malt Extract (can)
2.5 lbs Muntons Plain Light DME
Hops: 1/3 oz Columbus 60 min 15% AA
oz Hallertau 4.4% AA 15 min
oz. Hallertau 2 min
Yeast: tube. Belgian Abbey Ale Yeast #530 Pitched at 62 deg. 2:00pm
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 04/13/02 04/20/02 05/05/02
Gravity: 1.052 1.016 1.022 ( )
% Alcohol: 7 2 3 ( )
% Sugar: 14 4
Temp of reading: 62 60
Notes:
Pete May bought ingredients for my birthday, and helped with brew day.
04/20/02 Now I'm a little worried. Someone called when I was racking and I got distracted and let the siphon stop. I could not get it started again. So I sanitized a filter, and dumped the rest of the word (maybe a gallon) through it, through the funnel, and into the carboy. But then it dawned on me that it was splashing and oxygenating the wort. But I didn't want to give up that much beer. I m going to just go with it and see what happens.
The aroma was definitely Belgian. The taste was too, but a touch yeasty. It was a little sweet as well, but it definitely has characteristics similar to the Dubbel, probably due to the yeast.
05/05/02 Pete helped me bottle. No real cardboard or negative aroma or taste just yet. Could detect Belgian yeast flavor. It might just turn out OK. We'll see in a couple weeks.
Also might have idea why gravity reading is often higher at end been taking sample from bottom of bucket where maybe yeast from secondary has settled Need to take before bottom and degass.
05/21/02 Carbonated fine. Not much aroma but I m still a little stuffed up. First taste: somewhat complex. A little sweet, some bitterness, can t tell if off flavor or not just yet. Trying to recall what FT tastes like. After more tastes, I think it has not taken on off flavors yet. Flavor is good, but not what I thought it would be. A little more bitterness than I expected but it does has some hops. Verdict so far is drinkable and not bad. Will see how it ages.
06/05/02 No oxidized off flavors so that is great! Good copper, amber, dark orange color. Overall fairly sweet. Some hop balance. I wish the Belgian yeast effect was just a little bit less. Otherwise, quite good.
07/25/02
Dang this is good now. It is even
better than before. The slightly sharp off taste is gone. The
Belgian yeast flavor I thought a little strong has disappeared. This is
a very good beer right now almost 3 months after bottling.
Great. It s almost gone of course.
Beer Name: Raspberry Wheat Ale (NB s recipe)
Grains: lb DWC Caramel Pilsner
Malt Extract: 6.6 lbs wheat extract syrup
Hops: 1 oz Hallertau (60 min) 4% alpha acid
Misc.: raspberry extract at bottling time. Probably use 2 oz (out of 4 oz bottle).
Yeast: Wyeast pitchable tube 3068 Weihenstephan Wheat
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 05/21/02 05/27/02 Mon 06/10/02 06/15/02
Gravity: 1.040 didn t take 1.014 1.014
% Alcohol: 5-6 2 2
% Sugar: 11 4 3.5
Temp of reading: 72 72 68
Notes:
Corrected OG is only 1.041 and s/b 1.046 so don t know what happened. Too much water Little over 5 gallons.
05/27/02 Racked to secondary. Very cloudy. Great, rich caramel color. Wonder how it will look in glass.
Fermentation was vigorous and stuff went all through blow off tube.
06/10/02 Still bubbling once every 13 sec. Took gravity. Seems to be finished. Will take in few more days and see if it is still dropping. Taste is good. Some banana aroma and taste.
06/15/02 Looks like it is done fermenting. We re bottling in 5 days so for sure it will be done.
(later) Turned out fair. Would not make again. Did not like raspberry extract taste.
Beer Name: Imperial Stout (Windriver recipe)
Click pic for larger version.
Grains: 1/2 lb. Crystal 90 L
1/4 lb. Black Patent
1/4 lb. Roasted Barley (all 3 grains British)
Malt Extract: 9.3 lbs Amber liquid extract
3.3 lbs Dark liquid extract
Hops: 3 oz Northern Brewer 60 min. 7.7% alpha acid
2/3 oz Columbus (leftover) 15 min 15% alpha acid
1 oz Cascade 2 min 6.5% alpha acid
Misc.: cost of ingredients after discount: $38
Yeast: 1056 Wyeast pitchable tube. Made gallon starter --05/27/02 11:00 am
Les at NB convinced me to try Wyeast Nutrient ($2.25 for a bottle that will last a long, long time), so I used teaspoon in the starter wort boil
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 05/28/02 06/08/02 06/15/02 06/23/02
Gravity: 1.082 1.028 1.027 1.026
% Alcohol: 11% 4 3.5 3.5
% Sugar: 20% 7.5 7 7
Temp of reading: 68 66 68 70+
Notes:
05/28/02 Here I go again. Took reading of 5 gallons. Then pitched yeast starter. Knew it would bring level up to over 5 gallons, but now it s 5.5 gallons. Will use blow-off tube so don t think it will be a problem, but will probably be a little weaker than it would have otherwise been, and gravity will be a little off. But a little weaker with this beer probably won t hurt.
06/08/02 Per the 1/3 rule, it s ok to transfer to secondary. Still bubbling though. It s best day for me to do it so I m going to go ahead with it. We'll see if I get more fermenting in secondary bet I will.
Also is my first time trying to harvest yeast. It is kind of a practice run as I don t think I would use it again because I've read with higher gravity beers the yeast gets too worn out to be much good for multiple uses.
06/15/02 Appears to be nearly done fermenting. Might bottle next weekend (before Europe departure).
06/23/02 If it wasn't completely done fermenting, it was nearly so. I wanted to get it bottled and let it age in the bottle this time. I hope there was enough remaining suspended yeast to carbonate. Taste was good today.
Sept 2003 still have some of this left. It is very good these days. Will try to report tasting notes sometime.
May 2004. Had 6 ounces the other night. It was so smooth and wonderful. It's now 2 years old and it has aged very well.
Beer Name: Boston Amber (NB kit recipe)
Grains: 1 lb. Dingemans CaraVienne
Malt Extract: 3.3 lbs Gold Malt Syrup + 3.3 lbs Amber Malt Syrup
Hops: 1 oz NB 7.7% (60 min) + 1oz Hallertau 4.4% (2 min)
Misc.: yeast nutrient teaspoon (15 min).
Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale pitchable tube
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 07/25/02 08/01/02 08/15/02
Gravity: 1.042 1.014 1.012
% Alcohol: 08/01/02 Aroma malty. Taste kind of sweet. Good beer. Seems like easy, smooth, nice low gravity amber ale.
08/15/02 Robert Harvieux came and helped bottle. After first taste the hop bitterness is the most noticeable trait.
08/31/02 Tried first bottle. Not carbonated fully. Taste is ok. Can taste hop bitterness.
9/16/02 Still only get a head if pour from inches away. But taste is really coming along nicely. Smoothness reigns. Silky. Good mouthfeel. Hop bitterness is just enough. Very tasty tonight.
Misc.: Blue Ribbon Honey. Wildflower. 12 lbs. Peterson Honey Company, Chisago City, MN.
Yeast: Wyeast smack pack for sweet mead.
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 09/02/02 10/10/02 08/09/03
Gravity: 1.079 1.022 1.020
% Alcohol: 10.5 3 2.7
% Sugar: 20 6 5.5
Temp of reading: 60 68 72
Notes:
09/02/02 Readings are calibrated for 60. Maybe a little low due to 5.5 gallons Probably shouldn't overfill it so much.
10/10/02 Slight strong alcohol taste but still noticeable residual honey. Still has some fermenting to do. I like the taste of the honey better than the last mead, though.
01/16/03 Took reading. Same as above. Same taste too.
08/09/03 Hasn't fermented any more, but the taste is mellowing. Sample is pretty clear. Definite sweet honey aroma. Taste is quite nice. Very slight alcohol warmth but with pleasant, viscous honey mouthfeel. This should be nice as is, even if not as high an alcohol % as might be typical. It does fall into the BJCP guidelines, but with such a low OG probably should have fermented to a lower FG.
Beer Name: Steamin' Wife Lager http://byo.com/recipe/701.html
Click pic for larger version.
Grains: 8 oz Crystal. Steeped for 20 min up to 160 deg.
Malt Extract: 6 lbs NB Pale Liquid Malt Extract
1.6 lbs Muntons light DME
Hops: 1.66 oz Northern Brewer 7.7% alpha acid 60 min
.33 oz Northern Brewer 7.7% alpha acid 15 min
1 oz Cascade 6.3% aroma
Misc.: teaspoon Wyeast nutrient. Hydrated 5 min. then 15 min boil
1 teaspoon Irish Moss . Hydrated 5 min. then 15 min boil
Yeast: 2112 Wyeast California Lager. Made gallon starter 24 hours ahead of time. Smacked the smack pack about 17 hours before I made the starter.
OG = 1.055
FG = 1.015
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 10/20/02 10/29/02 11/16/02
Gravity: 1.063* 1.022 1.022
% Alcohol: 8* 3 3
% Sugar: 15* 6 6
Temp of reading: 60 (corrected to) 66 60
Notes:
*Hydrometer sample taken from 4.8 gallons BEFORE gallon yeast starter was pitched. Current volume is 5.3 gallons. Temp is 70 deg and I put it in furnace room with temp of 65.
-Took sample 30 min after added yeast: 1.061 7.75 14.5, so not much different.
10/29/02 Tasted good, a strong fine bitterness with a clean taste too. I think it will turn out pretty well. I d like to see it ferment down a little bit more. Hopefully it will.
11/16/02 Guess it didn't ferment any more but I did my best. Color is beautiful reddish brown. The aroma is definitely a lager one, with both malt and hop scents present. The flavor can be described as the same. It tastes clean, sweet and hoppy. I think this will turn out very well.
(later) This beer turned out wonderfully and was one of my favorites. As I get my kegs going, this would be a good one to put into one. A very drinkable, sweet, tasty beer.
Beer Name: Holiday Cheer recipe by Charlie Papazian
Grains: 1/8 lb Black patent
.5 lb Crystal
Malt Extract: 1 lb Muntons light DME
6 lbs. Alexanders Pale LME
Hops: 2 oz. Cascade (bittering) 6.3 % alpha acid
1 oz Saaz. (aroma) 3.6% alpha acid
Misc.: Honey. 1 lb of Jeff s. Added with malt extract.
1 oz fresh ginger root, grated (15 min left in boil)
3 tsp. Ground cinnamon. (15 left in boil)
4 orange peels, orange part ground up. (15 min left in boil)
Yeast: 1056 American Ale. Made gallon starter 24 hours ahead of time from pitchable tube.
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 10/22/02 10/29/02 11/11/02
Gravity: 1.068 1.020 1.018
% Alcohol: 9 2.5 2.25
% Sugar: 17 5 5
Temp of reading: 70 68 64
Notes:
10/22/02 took readings at 5 gallons. Afterwards added a touch more to bring to a little over 5 gallons.
10/29/02 Wow. A wonderful mixed aroma of all the spices and none are dominant. Taste is good too with a fine blend of spices, malt and hops. Still very young though. But so far so good. Been trying to keep the temp consistent around 70 but it fluctuates with electric blanket. Stays close to 70.
11/11/02 Bottled by myself. Jeff is too busy and this needs to get bottled so it can get ready for the Holidays.
Great ginger/orange aroma. Malty sweet taste with pleasant blend of spices. I don t even think it will have to age for spices to mellow. Great stuff.
(later) This beer indeed
turned out very well. I would make it again. The 2003 spiced beer
will be bigger and have more spices, so we'll see how it comes out.
Beer Name: German Alt (NB recipe)
Grains: 1 lbs. Durst Medium Crystal
Malt Extract 6 lbs. Munich Malt Syrup
1 lbs. Amber Dry Malt Extract
Hops: 1 oz. Spalt (60 min)
1 oz. Spalt (45 min)
1 oz. Spalt (15 min)
Yeast: Wyeast #1007 German Ale Yeast. (new XL smack pack, smacked Monday 12/16)
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 12/17/02 12/26/02 01/09/02
Gravity: 1.054 1.022 "
% Alcohol: 7 3 "
% Sugar: 13.5 6 "
Temp of reading: 60 60 "
Notes:
Brewed with Jeff. Tasted our Holiday Cheer, Anchor Christmas, Bells Java, Anderson Valley Solstice, and ? Tried rhubarb mead and it was pretty sour but not that bad.
Brewing itself seem to go fine. Ended up with only about 1.75 gallons of wort. Had heat higher and brewed off a little more than usual.
12/26/02 The gravity seems a little high but this sucker fermented like none other yet in the bucket. It clogged up the airlock a number of times. I had to just put tinfoil over it one night and in the morning a bunch of gunk was all over the top of the fermenter.
Taste is fine. Hops are definitely present and now I see why (2 oz bittering). Tastes similar to my Boston Amber, actually. Hopefully it will continue to ferment down a little more. If not, I don t know if I will trouble myself with trying to get it much lower.
01/09/03 Shoot the gravity did not go down. Well, I did all I could as far as helping the fermentation. I wonder why it didn't go lower. The taste was all right. We'll see how it develops.
01/23/03 First taste from bottle. It is carbonated. Color is nearly an orangish red. Aroma is unique but hard to describe. It s sort of a malty sour sweet slightly skunked aroma. Rather strange. Taste is good. It is sweet and enjoyable. I m not sure if the skunkiness is intentional. I mean, is it an off flavor Is it related to the cooler temps Is it an asset I wonder what others would say. It reminds me of my Boston Amber when it was smoother and sweeter. That beer kind of got worse. I think that some beers do not keep forever.
Grains: 1 lbs. Dingemans Caramunich
Malt Extract: 6 lbs. Amber Malt Syrup
3.3 lbs. Dark Malt Syrup
Hops: 1 oz. Perle (60 min)
1 oz. Hallertauer (10 min)
Yeast: Wyeast #2206 Bavarian Lager Yeast. (made gallon starter 12/16/02)
Brew Date: Rack to Secondary: Bottle Date:
Date: 12/18/02 12/30/02 03/22/03
Gravity: 1.074 1.026 1.022
% Alcohol: 9.5 3.5 3
% Sugar: 18.5 7 6
Temp of reading: 60 65 60
Notes:
Had Kristina, Barb S, Sarah McCarthy, Kate M over for cell group brewing demonstration. They liked Anchor Steam better than Boston Amber. Also liked Holiday Cheer.
12/30/02 Brought upstairs to diacetyl rest on 12/28. After warmed up to 62 was bubbling once every 5 seconds. Posted on forum and called NB and got advice to transfer now and get back down to 45 deg. Taste is sweet, strong, with alcohol warmth. Tastes good so far. I hope it will finish fermenting! L I wonder why my final gravities have not been that low since Boston Amber Maybe because all brews since then have been higher OG
03/22/03 Tastes great so far. Sweet, strong, clean, touch of alcohol warmth but not too much. Looks like it fermented a touch more but still finished high.
(later) This turned out great. Nice malty presence, good mouthfeel, tasted like a bock should. Still have a few bottles (Sept 2003).