Pumpkin Beer Brew Day

Brew day went well. Projected SG 1.077.  Actual measured is 1.072.  5.25 gallons into the fermenter. Racked onto a heavy toasted oak spiral that was soaked in Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum. Yes, into the primary, and there is no pumpkin in the brew as of yet. It  will be going into secondary. (I told you this was going to be a little different.) I'll post again when I rack to secondary. There will be more going on there as well!

CHEERS!

Pumpkin Beer

I decided to jump on the bandwagon and will be brewing a pumpkin beer for fall. It will be spiced and will contain pumpkin.  I'm going to think a little outside the box on this one. I'll post more later.
CHEERS!

ChileBerry Smoked Porter

Aromas of raspberry, chocolate, and smoke.  Flavors of raspberry, smoke, chiles, and a nice heat that builds from the back of the throat.  There is a light chocolate malt flavor on the finish.  This has turned out to be quite a complex beer.  All the flavor elements that went in  the beer are evident in layers of flavor.  This beer is quite rich and tasty.
CHEERS!

Smoked Porter, Special Edition, Now named ChileBerry Smoked Porter

I bottled this one today.  Final gravity is 1.014, so ABV is 6.03%.  Aromas of raspberry, smoke, and chocolate, with a hint of chile.  Flavors of raspberry, chocolate, light smoke, and serrano chile with a little earthiness, and a light to moderate heat kick that gets the back of the throat. This beer is milder than my jalapeno wheat beer, but still has a little "kick". I'm diggin' this flavor combination! (Sometimes I get carried away with my food background.) This should prove to be quite an interesting brew once it is conditioned! (2-3 weeks wait. Bummer.)  CHEERS!    

Smoked Porter, Special Edition

I gave it a taste test tonight to see how it is coming along.  No gravity check performed.  Here's the lowdown:  Aromas of roasted barley, smoke, and raspberry.  Flavors of roast barley, smoke, and raspberry.  Wow!  (I like the light roast barley flavor mingling with the cherrrywood smoked malt then the slight tartness of the raspberry on the finish.) So the last edition went in tonight as well.  I added the smoked Serrano chiles to finish it off.  These are milder on the heat scale than chipotles, so I figure about three days in the beer should do it.  I'll be taste testing it as I go to make sure there is just the right amount of heat. I think just a slight warmth will do.  CHEERS!

Kettle Black, Irish Dry Stout

I bottled this one today.  Final gravity of 1.014 placing ABV at 4.7%. The color on this is a deep ruby red/brown.  It is slightly transparent. Aromas of chocolate and coffee. Flavors of chocolate with a slightly bitter coffee-like finish. Smooth mouthfeel with light to medium body. This one of my favorite styles, so I can't wait until it is carbonated! CHEERS!

Smoked Porter, Special Edition

I checked the gravity today and it is 1.014 placing ABV at 6.03%.  A sample yielded aromas of mild smoke and roast barley, with coffee and cocoa notes.  Flavors of mild smoke, coffee, and cocoa.  Racked into secondary onto 3 lbs of red raspberry puree.  Second fermentation underway!  There is still another ingredient going in secondary in the near future.  I want most of the fermentation of the raspberry to be complete before my next addition. CHEERS!

Cabernet Sauvignon

Added the metabisulfate and sorbate to kill off the yeast.  Also added the chitosan for clearing.  Degassed for 4 minutes.  Gravity was 0.992 placing ABV at 14.175%.  Just waiting another week or two for clearing, the we'll bottle.
CHEERS!