My third installment in this diary series about kossacks that brew. The first two diaries are listed below for anyone that wants to check them out. I wish I had a beer to go with this diary but I'm bored on a lunch break at work (graveyard shift) and I want to write something.
Kossacks that Brew
Kossacks that Brew II
Nothing is more fun that brewing beer, especially when it's brewing beer with like-minded friends.
I am in the middle. My friend Nick is on the left and he taught everything I know about homebrewing. He also lurks here at Daily Kos. On the right is my friend Peter and in front is my friend Mike. We all have brewed together with Nick being the most experienced homebrewer in the bunch (10 or 11 years now). We all are Deaf as well, which is rare around these parts. The last time we brewed together was November of 2007. I am still hoping we can brew together again before the end of this year.
I have 11 batches under my belt and still hoping to brew number 12 sometime soon. I'm torn between another try at a Russian Imperial Stout and a Wheatwine (like a Barleywine, but with wheat). I want to brew a bigger beer to age through the winter. I brewed an Imperial Stout last October that likely still isn't carbonated. I feel it didn't come out too well and that's my reasoning behind taking another stab at it.
The pictures below are three of the beers I've brewed. I like to take pictures of them in nice looking glasses.
Rye Pale Ale #3 Batch No.11
This beer is displayed in a lovely glass from Brasserie Hopfenstark in nearby Quebec. It is my best attempt at brewing a pale ale with rye. It's spicy, has a great hop bite/aroma and goes down well. It was brewed back in May and due to time constraints, was not bottled until the end of June. I did primary fermentation in a plastic bucket and then transferred to secondary fermentation in a glass carboy. Lovely beer that's only going to get better with age!
Chocolate Oatmeal Stout Batch No.10
This beer is displayed in one of those fancy-schmancy Samuel Adams glasses that Jim Koch loves to tout. I wasn't too impressed with how this beer came out. It was a good start at an oatmeal stout though. I added 3 cups of Lake Champlain Chocolates Organic cocoa powder to the wort at the end of the boil. The last time I opened a bottle, it was a foam bomb. It's possibly that either too much priming sugar was used or the beer developed an infection at bottling time. Blah.
Rye Pale Ale #2 Batch No. 8
This beer is displayed in a lovely Hennepin glass (which sadly broke). The main difference between Rye Pale Ale #2 and #3 is mainly the color of malt extract used. #3 uses pale malt extract while #2 uses amber malt extract. The hop ratios are the same. #3 is a better effort due to being in a better-controlled environment (indoors vs outdoors) and it was a 4.5 gallon boil (#2 had problems with too many boil-overs, losing quite a bit of flavor in the process). #3 is definitely the best effort and it will be a mainstay in my homebrewing portfolio.
I'm looking forward to making another batch soon. As I've said, either another Imperial Stout or a Wheatwhine.
Feel free to talk about beer and homebrewing in general. Share recipes, etc.