I started homebrewing two years ago, and after my first two kits I have branched out to make experimental batches. I started a batch of what I will call "Amy's Summer Ale" on Sunday. It is mostly based on a homebrew kit from the local grocery store (look in the baking section for the English Medium Malt Syrup...go figure) with some added organic rice syrup, sugar and homegrown organic Cascade hops. After boiling the hops and blending the other ingredients, it had a nice mild flavor with a little hop bitterness.
This should be a little more hoppy than the "Amy's Spring Ale" I made last year, which was a pretty basic brew, so it should be more satisfying in the heat of summer. The yeast really enjoys the low pressure we are having this week, and it started bubbling right away. I'll see how this batch is doing in a few days. It is not so hot that it will be done in a week, but maybe 10 days? I had really good luck priming last time with regular sugar (instead of corn sugar/dextrose) so I will plan to do that again.
Homebrew Update June 29
ReplyDeleteAirlock bubbling stopped on Friday, so I moved it to the bottling height on Saturday, to let it settle just in case.
Sunday was bottling day. I boiled 1/2 c water with 5 oz. sucrose (sugar) and added to the bottling bucket. Let it cool a minute, then started the siphon. I always feel bad about tossing the yeast at the bottom of the bucket, since I know that with more food the yeast will grow and reproduce again...but I am never brewing one batch after another (need more bottles!)
Final gravity for this batch means it is around 6% alcohol. The flavor is fairly simple, hops bitterness and a mild malt flavor.
I'm setting the bottles aside to carbonate before moving them to the basement.
Homebrew Update July 2
ReplyDeleteCooled down one bottle, to check the flavor and carbonation. It tastes a bit raw, so I think the basement aging will really help. The head was good at first, then went flat pretty quickly. I'll give it one more week.