American Amber Ale

Hi all.  Flavor is good with silght maltiness, a little on on the lighter side.  Aroma is floral from the hops with good hops bitterness and flavor.  Very similar in style to a British ESB.  Nice mouthfeel with medium body and smoothness.  Nice clean and crisp finish.  I think this one turned out quite well.  Thanks for reading.  Cheers!

Oatmeal Stout

The fruits of my labor are as follows: Starting gravity : 1.060, Color: Deep redddish brown, On the nose: Coffee, chocolate, and slight caramel/toffee aromas,  Taste:  Coffee, chocolate, caramel, with a velvety, smooth full body.  Can't wait for this one to finish up!  I'll keep you posted!  Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

Birthday Oatmeal Stout

Mashed in at 156F to get more body into my stout.  Aromas of toffee, chocolate, and coffee while it is mashing.  (Wish this had smellavision!)  A quick taste reveals chocolate, toffee, and coffee notes with a very smooth and creamy mouthfeel and full body, which is what I'm aiming for.  About another 15 minutes to mash, then the 90 min boil will start.  I'll be bittering with Chinook hops and shooting for about 33 IBU's to keep a good balance as the chocolate malts and toasted oats will add some slight bitterness also.  Well, back to it.  Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

My Birthday Brew Day

On February 24 I will become another year older, maybe a little wiser, (who knows) and will definitely be brewing an Oatmeal Stout in honor of my day of birth.  Oatmeal Stout is one of my favorite styles of beer and as I have a "fondness for oddness", I'll have a slightly different mash bill than most partial mash oatmeal stouts.  My mash bill will contain the following: Maris Otter Pale Malt, Carastan Malt, Carapils Malt, Chocolate Malt, Chocolate Wheat Malt, toasted raw oats, and flaked barley.)  I guess not so odd, just a few of the malts are different than most recipes would use.)  I'll also use 3 lbs of dark liquid malt extract to hit my final gravity and I should end up with a full-bodied, creamy, smooth oatmeal stout.  I'll post more tomorrow on brew day! 
Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

Review: Billy's Chilies by Twisted Pine Brewery, Boulder, CO

Timberline Series which is made with five different kinds of fresh chili peppers, Anaheim, Fresno, Serrano, Jalapeno, and Habanero.  The aroma of fresh chili peppers is fantastic!  The smooth, clean wheat beer is crisp followed by a wisp of heat that lingers in the back of the throat.  Perfect spiciness in my opinion.  Once I start sipping on one that has been poured into a glass to release the amazing aroma, I just want to keep coming back for more!  This beer would pair well with mexican food, especially a huge plate of nachos with extra jalapenos!
If  you have a fondness for oddness when it comes to beer, this is a must try.  I highly recommend it!
Cheers!  Or in this case, Ole'!

Amber Ale

The F.G. is going to be 1.012,  the same as at secondary.  Bottling this one up tonight.  Flavor is good, color is a beautiful red/amber and pretty darn clear!  Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

Amber Ale

Hi all!  I racked the Amber Ale to the secondary fermenter and took a gravity reading.  1.012 from 1.056 OG resulting in a 5.77% brew so far.  Another week to go in secondary to clear up.  Dropped 1 oz hops in for dry hopping also.  So far a pretty standard Amber Ale.  Hoping some of the malt flavors  pop through.  Nice and clean finish due to the yeast strain.  Until next time, Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, Marzen : Review

OMG!  This beer is absolutely amazing!  Most American's palates aren't accustomed to a Rauchbier, or smoke beer which is brewed with malts that are smoked over open fire to attain a unique smoky flavor and aroma.  This particular version contains malt smoked over beechwood logs.  This beer is imported from Bamburg Germany and is touted as being the original smokebeer.  This is my first time ever trying this beer and I have been seeking it feverishly as I just wanted to taste it not knowing what to really expect.  I am not surprised at how awesome it is, just how hard it is to find!  It makes me want to go to Germany and have some wurst, some spaetzle, some braised red cabbage, and some wienerschnitzel, and down it all with liters of this!  So, if you would like to experience beer of a different sort, and are a little adventurous, you may like this.  You may not.  I know I certainly did enjoy it!  Prost! 

Amber Ale

My first experience with DME, dry malt extract, almost resulted in a boil over!   Caught it just in time.  Whew!
Here is the list of ingredients I used in my Amber Ale:  Maris Otter base malt, German CaraRed malt, German wheat malt, British Carastan malt, amber DME, and Chinook and Cluster hops.  OG was 1.056.  Expecting 1.059 by my program, so pretty much right on the money!  If this beer attenuates to its potential, around 1.013, it should be around 5.6-5.7 ABV.  Right where I wanted it.  I've heard speculation that the yeast I used may attenuate more than what I'm expecting, so I will keep you posted.  (Fermentis Safale US-05)  This should be a nice easy drinking Amber Ale.  WOOHOO!  Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

American Amber Ale

Hello all!  I am in the process of brewing as we speak.  I am making an American Amber Ale with 7 pounds of base malt and specialty grains as a partial mash.  I'll be adding 3 lbs of Dry Malt Extract to get within specifications.  I'm almost ready to make the leap to all-grain brewing!  (Still need a few more pieces of equipment.)  Anyhow, my wife Janell wanted me to brew a "normal" beer to drink.  So this will be it!  Great color so far!  Smells awesome!  It's about 30 minutes into the boil so I'll be adding the dry malt extract and bittering hops shortly.  Then it will boil for another 60 minutes and I will add more hop additions at 10 minutes and 1 minute left on the boil.  Then it will be cooling time.  I'll keep you posted!  Thanks for reading!  Cheers!