Lawnmower Ale and Holiday Porter

As I finish the first batch of beer, which hasn’t killed anyone, I have two additional batches rolling. The second batch, Lawnmower Ale, was racked to secondary fermentation without any issues, though, the yeast was very active and Kraeusen blew out of the airlock. I have decided to switch to a two-piece airlock that will be easier to clean. The Lawnmower is a golden colored ale, but we have to wait until it hits the glass to be sure.

Lawnmower Ale will be ready to drink on 16-November.

After flipping through the Joy of Homebrewing searching for my next recipe, I decided to go with one that was delivered to my inbox, Griz’s Chocolate-Orange Porter. A quick trip to Brewcraft for supplies, and I would be ready to brew. I had to make an additional stop at Whole Foods and the liquor store for a couple of organic oranges for zest and a bottle of Godiva Chocolate Liquor for the chocolate flavor. I am wondering what kind of punch the booze will add to the beer.

This recipe used loads of grains, and I was able to use a new partial mash technique that included lautering and sparging. Lautering is the removal of the loose grains from the wort and sparging is the process of rinsing the spent grains with hot water to extract more sugars from the grain. I found this method an actually easier than the giant tea bag method that I have been using. Another benefit is the loose grains should allow more of the flavors to be extracted while making the wort. It is a good learning experience and a decent primer for the all grain method that I want to try further down the road.

The wort smelled great! The house was filled with a chocolate-oatmeal cookie smell. Compared to the first batch that made the place really smell like a brewery, this was a welcomed change. Ice helped the cooling process along and was able to pitch the yeast at 70-75 degrees. The dark, chocolate colored beer is fermenting away and will be ready December 25th.

Look for the recipe soon.

My process is improving and I am relying less on the ‘how-to’ sheets, though it is always good to have the directions ready for reference. I am having a difficult time trying to cook and sanitize the equipment. I think future batches will start earlier in the morning so I don’t compete for the kitchen. This might not be an issue when I move the process to the garage or backyard. Then I can invest in a couple more buckets for keeping the sanitized equipment clean.

I only have a couple of Batch 001 Ale’s left, and a week to go for the Lawnmower Ale. In the meantime, I have found an excellent bottle of ale from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. The Estate, Brewers Harvest Ale is a first release of this ale. The Sierra Nevada Brewing Co grew the hops and grains for this beer. It is very good, and I just picked up a second bottle to let age.