On Saturday, I picked up a bottle of Pliny the Elder. Quite good. I am interested in seeing how my turns out. This should be ready in a few more weeks and it will be my first keg beer.

Tonight, I am bottling my holiday porter, which will be ready on Christmas Day. I’ll have a post Christmas beer tasting afternoon with some BBQ action. Let me know if you are interested. I expect to have the porter and Pliny the Elder ready for consumption by then.

Some quick links to the brew kits from MoreBeer.com:

Pliny the Elder:

• Extract Kit
• All Grain

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.

I moved the primary fermentation bucket onto the table and let settle for an hour or so. Waiting for the beer to settle, I made some coffee and cleaned the carboy, transfer hose and airlock. Learning that home brewing is a lot of cleaning. Once clean and sanitized, I prepared for the transfer. Hose to end of nozzle, other end into carboy. If you are looking at the pictures, the tub around the carboy is a preventative measure. If things go wrong, there is something else to trap the liquid – I had a really bad experience with a 50 gallon fish tank.

So it looks like beer. And it smells like beer. I think I am on the right track here. Over the last week, I learned what the hydrometer is used for – measuring the abv of the beer. How boozy is the beer? I am going to drink it one way are another. IF it is strong, drink less. I’ll worry about abv later. I have also been offered a kegerator from a colleague, who happens to be a home brewer. He has given me loads of tips, and it is helping fuel my interest in this new hobby. The kegerator will also allow me to do Pilseners too.

More waiting while the second fermentation does its thing. To pass the time, I am taking the girlfriend to Hawaii. We get back just in time for bottling. I need to figure out the next recipe too. Pale Ale is going to be tasty, but variety is good.