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Bottled the red today. It tastes great so far, cannot wait for it to be fully conditioned and chilled. Even Kate is looking forward to it, which is a pleasant surprise for me. Specific gravity is still at 1.014, which is not surprising. This means a final ABV of about 3.4%.
I am thinking the next will be a dark hefeweizen. The citrusy notes combined with a hint of roasted barley. =)
Well, the Red is currently cooling on the counter, waiting for the addition of the yeast which will make it (eventaully) into a delicious ale that I will drink on, and after, St. Patrick’s day.
The Stout is still very delicious and I am looking forward to not only making an Imperial version of it, but also brewing a peppercorn stout (or porter) later on. This will be different from my pepper-infused red that I will also be making, but I expect both to be popular in their own circles.
No gravity readings yet, the sample is still cooling down, but I will give it once I have it.
Don’t worry, have a home brew!
Stark Stout
I had a long day of moving furniture and rearranging our living room, so I decided it was a good time to see if the stout was properly conditioned. I cracked one and poured it gently, hoping for a good head and that thick aroma of roasted malts and licorice. I was not disappointed, as you can see. It tastes as good as it looks and I have like 30 more bottles! Yay!
The first run of Stark Stout is bottled and is conditioning now. It’s final SG was about 1.022, down from the initial 1.042, making the final ABV about 2.2, similar to domestically served Guinness. On a related note, it tastes much like Guinness, but with a distinct licorice taste at the end. I do believe that next time I brew this beer I will use more malt and a stronger yeast, if I can obtain some “pacman” I may use it. Overall a very satisfying first run with lessons learned and Christmas bottles used. =D
I did indeed receive a kit for Christmas (from my good friends Rachel and Ian!) and will be making it today. As of right now it is boiling away on the stove. It is a variation of the Toad Spit Stout listed in the Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian. I am adding about an inch and a half of brewer’s licorice to the mix. I am waiting for the wort to cool then I will take a SG reading, pitch and let everyone know how awesome it tastes!
In preparation (and hope) of getting more ingredients for Christmas, I have racked the Holiday Spice Beer into a carboy to continue its fermentation until right before New Year’s Day. It’s coming along very nicely and reached a SG of approximately 1.014. I am very pleased with the liquid yeast strain I purchased this time and will continue to do so.
It tastes very good. It is mellow and has a light honey tang which will make it very satisfying.
We started a holiday spice beer today. It is comprised, in addition to the malts, of honey, orange peel, cloves, coriander and cinnamon. It smells great and will be a nice beer for the remainder of the winter. Specific Gravity of 1.064
Well, the IPA is now in bottles. It went fairly well, though we did lose about 4 bottles to spillage and were foolish enough to not check if our bottles were screw-top. >_< Luckily we caught it early and were able to use other bottles. The beer tastes great and I look forward to drinking it in its fully conditioned state this weekend.
Next time I use a primary and secondary, and I do not dry hop with loose hops, that was messy and kinda gross when it came out of the carboy.
To everyone who has tried my first batch and to everyone who has been told about it: Thank you very much for your words of encouragement and support! I should be starting my next batch soon (it’ll be an IPA) and I will let people know how to get a taste if they leave comments!
Stark Stout: Winter Is Coming (to a bottle) 
New Beer
January 13, 2010 in Beer | Tags: Beer, comments | 3 comments
Well, I’m trying to figure out what kind of beer to brew next. I have done an IPA, two stouts and a Holiday (honey, orange, cinnamon, etc) and am not sure if I should go for the red (which I would like to have around for St. Patrick’s Day) or another IPA (I drank the last one last night). Any suggestions from out there in the interwebs?