Friday, May 6, 2011

What? April is over?

Wow. It’s May 6. Where the hell did April go?
As you can probably guess, I’m a bit behind schedule for brewing. I’ve completely missed my April brew session due mainly to lack of time. First there was a lovely (and much needed) vacation in the Bahamas, then just trying to play catch up. In any case, I’m hoping to be back on track in May with 2 new beers brewed.
The first brew is scheduled to be a Midas Touch clone. I’ve always loved this beer by Dogfish Head and when I found the clone in Sam Calagione’s book "Extreme Brewing", I knew I had to give it a shot. It’s a sweet, dry ale that is purported to be from a 2700 year old Turkish recipe. With any luck, I’m going to have a nice version of this ready to drink just in time for deck weather.
The second brew for May is going to be a simple Witbier. There is nothing quite as satisfying in the warmth of summer than a spicy white beer, so I plan on have 5 gallons on hand for a roof top party or two. This one is going to go fast, especially knowing my wife’s tastes.
Past Brew Update
The February Tripel had yet another road bump or two. The gravity never got down to where I wanted it, but it was close so I bottled it anyway. When we went on vacation, I of course ran around the house turning off any and all heat monitors, unplugging electronics and making sure all doors were closed (I’m a bit anal like that). What I failed to think of was the fact that the Tripel needed heat to keep the yeast working in those bottles. By the time we got home and opened a bottle, I realized that there was no carbonation at all. The beer was flat. Thanks to the very helpful advice of Dan at Maine Beer Company, a little rousting of the bottles and some more time in proper heat took care of that problem. As it stands, the Tripel is still conditioning, but each test is tasting better. My thought is that it’s always going to be a bit sweet, but still drinkable.
The March beer (which I failed to blog, sorry) was a hoppy porter. This beer came out great and was well liked by all. It had a really nice bitter chocolate finish that is not typical of the style, but we really got into. As you can tell by my use of past tense, this beer is almost gone. With approximately 3 bottles left (and maybe a few hiding in the cooler at Novare Res), this one went almost as fast as our wedding beer.
The plan right now is to brew the Midas clone on 05/14 and the Wit on 5/28, so you should see a couple more posts and pictures over the next few weeks.

Cheers!
-Chris