Journal of Brewing

Ok, its been a while, but good things come to those who wait.
Acting on a whim, I decided to make some pale ale using exclusively Simcoe hops.
For the last few batches I’ve been doing all-grain but I just felt like doing an extract version. I just can’t wait to taste it.
Starter: Made a [...]

All ratings are performed on a 0(awful) to 5(great) scale

Color - 5
Nose - 3
Body - 3
Flavor - 4

Tasting Notes: Well, i’m actually happier with this one than I anticipated I would be. The brew session was kind of a disaster due to multiple equipment failure.
Sparge was [...]

Porter. Not much more you need to say about it. The weather is getting cooler and i’m running low on homebrew. The time has come.
Fermentation will take place in the kegerator with the external thermostat set to 70F. I will also be fermenting in a carboy for the first time.
Starter: [...]

Oh yes, all-grain is possible inside my apartment.
So we doughed in a touch too hot. I mixed well and there were a few hot spots throughout the mash. I added some cold water to compensate. We ended up doing the rest around 151 for 70 minutes. Didn’t do a starch test, [...]

Pale Ale. I know, I know, it’s technically an English thing. But let’s face it, those cheeky bastards don’t get many things right. American Pale Ale practically defined microbrewing in this country as we know it. Thus, for my second all-grain attempt, i’m going Pale.
Fermentation will take place in the kegerator [...]

All ratings are performed on a 0(awful) to 5(great) scale

Color - 5
Nose - 4
Body - 4
Flavor - 5

Tasting Notes: Wow, my first all-grain beer. I’m so happy with the results. It’s creamy, it’s malty, it’s very lightly hopped but Fuggles are in there. This [...]

It was a last minute decision. I had been thinking about it for awhile and muttering about it at the brew club meetings. I happened upon two 7 gallon coolers and fitted them with ball valves. That’s right everyone, it was all-grain time.
Needless to say I didn’t enter this little exercise without [...]

All ratings are performed on a 0(awful) to 5(great) scale

Color - 3
Nose - 5
Body - 3
Flavor - 3

Tasting Notes: Kind of on the fence with this beer. I really like the style and it will do very well in the summer. It’s certainly quaffable. I [...]

All ratings are performed on a 0(awful) to 5(great) scale

Color - 4
Nose - 3
Body - 4
Flavor - 4

Tasting Notes: This beer sort of sneaks up on you. It looks unassuming but it’s rather hefty. The alcohol is certainly present. I really get the hop [...]

Final Gravity: 1.019
Attenuation: 70%
ABV: 6.16
Bottling was quite uneventful. Primed with 5oz priming sugar boiled in 1 pint of water. Aging is certainly required to tame down the oats astringency.