Brew Day...

Ok... while this day was quite fun it did have its ups and downs:

1. Location- Nick's new house (up) Its in a disaster state (down)
2. Beer- Making a nut brown ale (up)... winging it on the sterilization process (down)

I have to say, one of the best smells in the world is when that wort is boiling away after the hops have been added... it has elbowed its way into my top ten list for best smells in the world.

Red-handed ale

I was thinking... due to the fact that this beer is an Irish Red and we had a little "criminal" activity surrounding the production of it, I was thinking that this would be a proper name for this batch of brew.

Irish Red Day 8

Ok, so I never got around to doing the Hydrometer readings, but I am pretty sure by looking at it, that the primary fermentation is over. The foam on top is pretty much gone, and there are no more bubbles in the fermentation lock. Anyone wanna come by tomorrow night and switch it into the secondary fermentation carboy?

Nice Overview...

This is a nice Wikipedia site for an overview of some of the different types of beers and what makes them different from each other.

Maybe we should each do our research on one beer or the other and become experts on that beer... then we can compare notes.

Here is a page in Wikipedia that focuses more on homebrew.

By the way, the yeast was ok...

I am not sure if you can really tell from these pictures, but the yeast package is about three times the size it was on saturday. It does say on the package to allow it to swell for three hours or more, or immediately direct pitch into wort. It is not necessary for this package to fully swell before use. So I think we will be ok with the other one that is brewing, but with this one would it be ok to use on sat if we brew another batch? I think I remember reading somewhere to use it within 24 hours after smacking it, but it doesn't say anything on the package. I would feel like an idiot sending this one back at this point.

Irish Red, Day Six

The beer is still in Primary Fermentation. The "FERMENTATION LOCK" is still bubbling, and actually if you smell the bubbles, they smell pretty good. Maybe this saturday we should take our first Hydrometer reading? Any of you guys in? It is looking a little lighter in color though I don't see it turning really Red?

Potential Yeast Sources

So... I was braggin... I mean talking about this brewing thing with my supervisor at work and he was telling me about this other guy at work who also brews his own beer. He said that if we want to use the same yeast that the major brewing companies use (guinness, sam adams, etc.) then all we need to do is grow a yeast culture from the beer directly... lucky enough... you guys have me, where I can do this stuff.