Batch Two and Bottling

Racked the first batch of American Pale Ale. I decided to go with bottles, because I wanted the full experience. I am already over it and ready to clean the kegs and kegerator. Though, it is nice to have a very portable means of carrying home brew. I was pleasantly surprised that I got a full case of 22oz bottles filled. Now, I get to wait another week to ten days for the natural carbonation to build. Apparently, keg beer doesn’t need nearly this long to gain carbonation. I just get to wait, which is fine because I am headed to the east coast for a wedding.

While at the beer store on Saturday, I picked up some more ingredients for the next batch. I am using Grizzly’s recipe for Lawnmower Ale. Should be a nice lighter ale and hopefully a substitute for a pilsner which require a little bit more equipment, namely, refrigeration.

I got a late start on the second batch yesterday and slightly modified the process a bit. The change in process meant that it took longer to cool the wort. However, I hydrated the yeast before pitching which meant I was already fermenting by the time I woke up this morning. I miscalculated my trip and beer making, and I should be moving to the secondary fermentation while I am away. Oh well. Slight chance that it will be ready Wednesday night, my last chance before heading out. Lawnmower Ale uses clarification additives and dry malt extracts, which were new to me. Everything that I have been reading states, “use quality ingredients”. I am not sure where dry malt extract falls into that category.

In the future, I might try maintaining my own yeast cultures. The process doesn’t sound too difficult, and it would be cool to culture a favorable yeast. I observed the process a little more closely this time, and the epiphany of the re-hydrating of the yeast was well worth the minor effort and extra time. Lots to learn in the meantime though. For now, I will stick to the partial mash with store-bought yeast cultures.

Since I have started this new hobby, I have connected with some friend’s who are also home brewers. I cannot wait to sample some of their wares. I need to start recording my recipes and notes. Almost seems like that there should be an app for that…

Next steps: Review and document process, figuire out kegging, and find the next recipe. Might have to hit up an old colleague of mine for his recipe.