woody's wheat - sand creek
very light color, though not clear- hazy wheat. smells almost just like mine, though a bit more citrusy. explosive carbonation - very easy drinking lite wheat beer. very light taste, clear water and citrus feel
william jones el toro brewing wheat beer
- very clear, darker than woody's
- more wheat taste, not as citrusy. subdued flavor. scent is like the grain sack for my wheat. great smell. very good.
white rascal belgian style wheat ale
- light color, not as clear. looks alot like the woody's. not as citrusy, but still there. smooth wheat, wit beer. truly a home brew - ingredient list "malted barley, imported belgian malted wheat, imported czech saaz hops, coriander, curacao orange peel and belgian yeast.
woody creek white - belgian wit beer
- very cloudy, light like the other two. scent is more wheaty and citrus. similar profile as the other 2.
if i had to chose a winner I really liked the el toro. tasted like a wheat, quite nice.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Racking Wright
Racked to secondary. looks pretty good. tastes nice and somewhat hoppy, not as much as i would have thought. put the dry hops in, should have had some marbles because it's floating. we'll see. went pretty smoothly.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wright Fermenting
Now it's going - fermenting nicely and really giving off a great hop smell. I just hope I don't have to do another quick changeout to the blowoff tube. Will be monitoring.
Noticed also that the stuff on the bottom is now moving all around. Pretty amazing stuff. The inside of the carboy is moving wildly with huge chunks of goodies all over. Has to be the Irish Moss right?
Friday, May 22, 2009
Not so bad
8:53 pmSG still about 1.019.... but MAN does this taste good. nice carbonation. still quite sweet but carbonation hides it. really quite good. :) good foam, etc...
it's funny, you can taste what was before, the sweet,not fully fermented ale. but it's somewhat hidden by this other fermentation. great mouth feel, could be more but that's the perfectionist talking. funny that's it's truly been 6 weeks.
Flash Taste - Honey Wheat
6:30 pm
really seems like it's crawling. its just under 1.01, maybe 1.009 but not by much. thinking its done, should bottle tonight.
11:00 pm
first taste. very nice. sweet but hoppy and fermented enough. troubles with a few screw on bottles and should have cleaned the bottles before starting. otherwise it was good.
taste - sweet and bitter, but leaves a pleasant aftertaste. and you can tell it's been fermenting for a while. really think that after adding the priming sugar and letting it develop will be truly great. somewhat funny smell, same smell as primary fermentation with the blowoff tube.
really seems like it's crawling. its just under 1.01, maybe 1.009 but not by much. thinking its done, should bottle tonight.
11:00 pm
first taste. very nice. sweet but hoppy and fermented enough. troubles with a few screw on bottles and should have cleaned the bottles before starting. otherwise it was good.
taste - sweet and bitter, but leaves a pleasant aftertaste. and you can tell it's been fermenting for a while. really think that after adding the priming sugar and letting it develop will be truly great. somewhat funny smell, same smell as primary fermentation with the blowoff tube.
Wright Stuff American Pale
6:38 pm
It begins - decided to do a pale ale. Had just got done with the honey wheat so wanted something with a little more hops to it.
http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=5
6:57 pm
12 quarts
8 full pitchers = 12 quarts
2 gallons left for carboy
7:06 pm
New thermometer from the parents tonight. Fill it up to 3 gallons even though the recipe calls for 2. Shouldn't make much difference and it probably overall better anyway. Think i'll use the 6 gallon carboy so i know where to fill to.
7:33 pm
Up to about 145F, thermo works great with 3 gallons.
8:00 pm
Grains done, noticed the temps differed from new thermo to digital thermo... hmmm, it's about a 5F lag. Will have to keep an eye on it.
Anyway the extract is in, hops are in, time to bring to a boil for 50 minutes.
8:18 pm
still waiting for boil
8:28 pm
about 200f.. next time after the grains then take thermo out and just let it get to boil with lid on fully. don;t really need thermo until cooling.
9:04 pm
16 minutes left, putting in the Irish moss
9:10 pm
10 minutes left, throwing the rest of the hops
9:20 pm
Boil done waiting for 190 for the honey.
11:42 pm
Tastes good, but a bunch o stuff on the bottom
12:02 pm
whew - finally done!
not sure about the buildup on the bottom. appears to be the carryover from the hops. og = 1.054
It begins - decided to do a pale ale. Had just got done with the honey wheat so wanted something with a little more hops to it.
http://www.wyeastlab.com/hb_yeaststrain_detail.cfm?ID=5
6:57 pm
12 quarts
8 full pitchers = 12 quarts
2 gallons left for carboy
7:06 pm
New thermometer from the parents tonight. Fill it up to 3 gallons even though the recipe calls for 2. Shouldn't make much difference and it probably overall better anyway. Think i'll use the 6 gallon carboy so i know where to fill to.
7:33 pm
Up to about 145F, thermo works great with 3 gallons.
8:00 pm
Grains done, noticed the temps differed from new thermo to digital thermo... hmmm, it's about a 5F lag. Will have to keep an eye on it.
Anyway the extract is in, hops are in, time to bring to a boil for 50 minutes.
8:18 pm
still waiting for boil
8:28 pm
about 200f.. next time after the grains then take thermo out and just let it get to boil with lid on fully. don;t really need thermo until cooling.
9:04 pm
16 minutes left, putting in the Irish moss
9:10 pm
10 minutes left, throwing the rest of the hops
9:20 pm
Boil done waiting for 190 for the honey.
11:42 pm
Tastes good, but a bunch o stuff on the bottom
12:02 pm
whew - finally done!
not sure about the buildup on the bottom. appears to be the carryover from the hops. og = 1.054
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
6:57 pm
going to rack to secondary.. could let it sit more but I want to transfer it. sg is about 1.018.. 4.9% ABV :)
Blowoff tube about every 8 seconds now.
8:01 pm
done racking, had a sample, good taste, but you can tell it has a ways to go still. some off flavors but that should be taken care of in a few weeks. beer is quite cloudy, but still good. definitely has better mouth feel than the badger amber. noticed that when racking there was a lot of yeast still on the sides of the carboy. probably could have let it sit in the primary for a few more days. the air lock is bubbling away. now cleanup time.
8:39 pm
all done
Interesting to note, that the airlock bubbles happen about 45 seconds apart, versus the blowpoff hose, which was about 8 seconds. it has to do with the holes in the top of the airlock but interesting to note.
10:20 pm
fermentation definitely on... bubbles sitting on top of the brew. perfect. bubbles about 6 seconds apart. temp went from 66 since transfer to 68 with the space heater.
10:57pm
bubbles a go go. airlock about every 5 secs now.
11:33pm
1.016 about
going to rack to secondary.. could let it sit more but I want to transfer it. sg is about 1.018.. 4.9% ABV :)
Blowoff tube about every 8 seconds now.
8:01 pm
done racking, had a sample, good taste, but you can tell it has a ways to go still. some off flavors but that should be taken care of in a few weeks. beer is quite cloudy, but still good. definitely has better mouth feel than the badger amber. noticed that when racking there was a lot of yeast still on the sides of the carboy. probably could have let it sit in the primary for a few more days. the air lock is bubbling away. now cleanup time.
8:39 pm
all done
Interesting to note, that the airlock bubbles happen about 45 seconds apart, versus the blowpoff hose, which was about 8 seconds. it has to do with the holes in the top of the airlock but interesting to note.
10:20 pm
fermentation definitely on... bubbles sitting on top of the brew. perfect. bubbles about 6 seconds apart. temp went from 66 since transfer to 68 with the space heater.
10:57pm
bubbles a go go. airlock about every 5 secs now.
11:33pm
1.016 about
Monday, May 11, 2009
Honey Going
8:15 pm
cleaned the sludge/krausen from the top of the hydrometer. looking like 1.025 = 3.9% ABV, very nice...
drew was over, went through the whole setup with him. primary is still fermenting through the blow off tube. rate of about bubble per 3 seconds. was a little cold downstairs though, about 64F, fermenter still said about 68F. So turned the heater on, will see for how long
cleaned the sludge/krausen from the top of the hydrometer. looking like 1.025 = 3.9% ABV, very nice...
drew was over, went through the whole setup with him. primary is still fermenting through the blow off tube. rate of about bubble per 3 seconds. was a little cold downstairs though, about 64F, fermenter still said about 68F. So turned the heater on, will see for how long
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Honey's Going
9:30 amwell into the fermenatation. lots of activity. Temps steady at about 68F with the heater on throughout the night
7:09 pm
whoa, really fermenting now... maybe i should have used the 6.5 gallon.
9:33 pm
hmm, now i'm worried. the krausen is getting close to the airlock.
11:10 pm
had it, too much foam and was worried about it blowing of the top. So I swapped the airlock with the blowoff tube and the bottling bucket. first sanitized the tube with bleach and ran hot water through it. then filled the bottling bucket. did a quick swap - was thinking the airlock would blow off as i released the pressure but it didn't, thank goodness. shoved the tube in, gave it a good push and it seems to be working. bubbles blowing quite regularly into the bucket.
Happy Mother's Day
Mothers day surprise, had given mom one of the beers from the Amber Ale case and it tasted a lot better than the others before it. more zest and not so flat. conditioned nicely.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Honey Wheat
6:40 pm
grain sack bag... too small to wrap on lid. thought it would float. nope.
thermometer is out. using the indoor/outdoor one.
7:14 pm
Got 'er going. about 9 minutes left with the grains. outside thermo didnt stand to 170, meat thermo did though.
7:30 pm
added malt extract & hops. waiting for boil. used green spatukla
7:48 pm
boil on
8:00 pm
am noticing a lot more agreesive boil with the lid, which should be good. using wyeast liquid activator - 3068 from 31MAR09.... some threads say to pre treat the yeast a few days before, well i dont have that liberty. so it was out of the refridge about 7:40 and I "smaked" it... didn't feel any activating pouch or anything though. will see. about 30 minutes more for the boil.
8:20 pm
still no activity from the yeast. not sure about it. ah well. the boil is on, smells great.
8:30 pm
added first bump (.5 oz) of the cascade pellet hops, boil for another 12 minutes
8:35 pm
while that was on i filled the carboy using the water from the fridge and the funnel. worked very well. hope the water is good, took about 5 minutes to fill to 3 3/4 gallons. temp was about 57F
8:42 pm
2nd bump of hops, boil for another 3 minutes, during this time i setup the basement. brought the hydrometer, funnel, carboy, ice holder, and airlock down and set it on the washer. excellent setup.... need to remember this for next time.
8:45 pm
done with the hops, now need to cool to under 190F... which turned into a Celsius reading cause the thermo went nuts. 190 is roughly 87.7C. So got to there then added the honey.
8:55 pm
finally.. now adding the honey.
9:00 pm
all set, brought the wort down and put it next to the washer, added the ice and water and away we go, let's chill.
9:18 pm
chilled to about 90ish... depending where the thermo reads. very fast, very pleased.
9:20 pm
transferred chilled wort to the carboy using the funnel. then shook the carboy for a good minute or so WITH THE THIEF IN - this helped reduce the splashing alot. maybe shook for more than a minute. lots of bubbles. one thing is i didn't dump all the hops into the mix this time, left about 1/4 of it out, maybe more. will see. big thing this time was aeration.
Added the airlock... whoops, forgot to fill the hydrometer. airlock out, thief in, filled the hrydo.
9:25 pm
laid the dwarves down this time so the carboy rested on it. try to trap some of the warmth, temps are looking like 62F.
9:30 pm
all done (except for cleaning)
9:44 pm
typing it all up.
og looking like 1.056 (oh please, oh please ferment!)
9:50 pm
looks cold downstairs, should i heater it or xmas lights... ?
10:10 pm
done
12:30 am
looks like a little starting
grain sack bag... too small to wrap on lid. thought it would float. nope.
thermometer is out. using the indoor/outdoor one.
7:14 pm
Got 'er going. about 9 minutes left with the grains. outside thermo didnt stand to 170, meat thermo did though.
7:30 pm
added malt extract & hops. waiting for boil. used green spatukla
7:48 pm
boil on
8:00 pm
am noticing a lot more agreesive boil with the lid, which should be good. using wyeast liquid activator - 3068 from 31MAR09.... some threads say to pre treat the yeast a few days before, well i dont have that liberty. so it was out of the refridge about 7:40 and I "smaked" it... didn't feel any activating pouch or anything though. will see. about 30 minutes more for the boil.
8:20 pm
still no activity from the yeast. not sure about it. ah well. the boil is on, smells great.
8:30 pm
added first bump (.5 oz) of the cascade pellet hops, boil for another 12 minutes
8:35 pm
while that was on i filled the carboy using the water from the fridge and the funnel. worked very well. hope the water is good, took about 5 minutes to fill to 3 3/4 gallons. temp was about 57F
8:42 pm
2nd bump of hops, boil for another 3 minutes, during this time i setup the basement. brought the hydrometer, funnel, carboy, ice holder, and airlock down and set it on the washer. excellent setup.... need to remember this for next time.
8:45 pm
done with the hops, now need to cool to under 190F... which turned into a Celsius reading cause the thermo went nuts. 190 is roughly 87.7C. So got to there then added the honey.
8:55 pm
finally.. now adding the honey.
9:00 pm
all set, brought the wort down and put it next to the washer, added the ice and water and away we go, let's chill.
9:18 pm
chilled to about 90ish... depending where the thermo reads. very fast, very pleased.
9:20 pm
transferred chilled wort to the carboy using the funnel. then shook the carboy for a good minute or so WITH THE THIEF IN - this helped reduce the splashing alot. maybe shook for more than a minute. lots of bubbles. one thing is i didn't dump all the hops into the mix this time, left about 1/4 of it out, maybe more. will see. big thing this time was aeration.
Added the airlock... whoops, forgot to fill the hydrometer. airlock out, thief in, filled the hrydo.
9:25 pm
laid the dwarves down this time so the carboy rested on it. try to trap some of the warmth, temps are looking like 62F.
9:30 pm
all done (except for cleaning)
9:44 pm
typing it all up.
og looking like 1.056 (oh please, oh please ferment!)
9:50 pm
looks cold downstairs, should i heater it or xmas lights... ?
10:10 pm
done
12:30 am
looks like a little starting
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