Homebrewing - My Spiced Winter Ale

My Spiced Winter Ale has also been in primary fermentation for about two weeks now. It started with an OG (original gravity) of 1.032 (again, lower than what the target was supposed to be... 1.040) It's down to about 1.010 right now (about 2.9% abv.)

I'm just not sure about this beer. The spices used (a mulling spice blend) are a little strong for my taste. A lot of cinnamon smell and taste. I'm supposed to put about a half an ounce in the secondary fermentation, but I think I will leave it out, hoping the smell and taste mellows out in secondary.

I'll be transferring it to secondary today.

Homebrewing - My Schwarzbier

Well, it's been about two weeks since I made my first beer in about two and half years. My Schwarzbier (Black Lager) has been fermenting in the fridge. It started with an original gravity of 1.042 and is currently at 1.020. I missed the target gravity of 1.052, which has always been a problem in my brewing. My OG has always been lower than what it should be and I'm not really sure what I may be doing wrong. It could be as simple of not boiling it long enough, as I only do it for about an hour.

I took a sample last night, to get the 1.020 gravity reading, and the beer tastes pretty good. If you will remember, the kit I used was about a year old. I'm pleased with the taste so far. I may try to swirl the carboy a little bit, being careful not to get too much oxygen into the beer, as it will cause problems. I just need to the gravity to drop some more before transferring it to secondary fermentation.

So far so good, though.

Your Guide to Lotusphere

For those of you who are going to Lotusphere for the first time, I would strongly suggest that you check out Andy Donaldson's blog post. My first trip to Lotusphere was greatly enhanced by reading and following the links on Andy's post from last year. I don't think I would have had as much fun or knew what to expect had I not found his blog and the helpful information he has in that post.

I would also suggest listening to the Taking Notes Podcasts. I listened to a lot of good information in the podcasts that also helped me prior to going to Lotusphere.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this year. If I could offer any little bit of information or helpful advice, it would be this... if you are new to the world of Lotus and Lotusphere, and read a lot of the blogs, don't be afraid to approach and talk to the bloggers. They are a great bunch of people and are just like you and me. I tend to shy away from talking to people who do a lot of Lotus blogging, thinking that they are unapproachable. This is not the case. They are welcoming and very approachable... and a lot of fun to be with.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to attend Lotusphere, have fun, talk to the bloggers, make some new friends.

Man... I wish I was going...

Advanced Notice: Woot Off begins tonight

I just received the following email from Woot:

Welcome to Woot's first official recession-era newsletter! For the next 12 to 24 months, all citizens are expected to fret over, worry about, or even directly experience the nadir of a consumerist society - OMG! What will we do when we stop buying stuff? Economists now agree that we're headed through a prolonged period of decreased consumer spending (you really need an advanced degree to come up with insights like that). Beyond that, it's anybody guess. Will the only growth sectors in the economy be shoe repair, pipe salvage, and roadside apple sales? Or will we bring on a quick recovery by doing patriotic things like buying stuff we can't afford and spending more money than we make?

As a retailer, it'd make sense for us to fall in with the BUY STUFF, AMERICA conga line. But by now, you know that we at Woot never do things the "normal", "sensible", "rational", "intelligent" way. We're not about to follow the herd over a cliff. When we go over a cliff, it's because of our own poor judgment, not someone else's. That's been our credo since about five minutes ago, when we first thought of it. And we've stayed true to it ever since.

That's why we're encouraging you and your fellow wooters to save this holiday season. Save your money! Save until you pull a saving muscle. Horde your money until you are literally choking on it. Save until maybe, like, mid-February or so, when the market will be a-glut with great deals for the taking every day. You'll avoid the crowds, take advantage of desperate retailers, and not have to hear "Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time" even once.

Sure, maybe you'll disappoint some of your loved ones. But if they really love you, they can wait a couple of months, especially if your finances are at stake. Besides, if your so-called loved ones wanted you to set yourself on fire, would you? Of course you wouldn't. And that's the kind of independent thinking that will one day break the mindless conformity of our consumerist holiday ways.

But be warned: you'll want to stay far away from Woot.com this week. The breadth and scope of bargains we'll be offering - especially starting Tuesday morning at midnight - will be powerfully tempting. They could even lead you back down the spend-spend-spend path with the rest of the sheep. And that would make us sad enough to cry while we're taking your money.

See you in February!

Woot.com

Woot is located in Texas, so at Midnight CST, 1:00 a.m. EST, the Woot Off will begin. It's the last Woot Off before Christmas. There's bound to be some great deals going on, and this Woot Off will probably last a few days... possibly until Friday.

My first Beer post...

Since my blog title is Brews and Notes, and I haven't posted any brew stuff yet (at least I don't believe I have), I figured the time is right...

I haven't brewed a beer in almost two and a half years, and I am sick about it. In May of 2006, I brewed an Oktoberfest beer and fortunately, I still have a few bottles left... well I did until Thanksgiving weekend.

The week before Thanksgiving, I found two gift certificates that were given to me... one was a Christmas present from 2006, and the other a birthday present from May of 2007. The certificates were from Norther Brewer. I called them up and asked them if they were still valid. Fortunately for me, they were. I now had $100 to spend on beer stuff.

I've got three kits to make, that were given to me at Christmas 2007. I knew that the yeast, which had been properly stored in the brewery fridge, were probably not viable, so I used the "free money" to buy new yeast. There were some other things that I needed/wanted, so I ordered enough to use up the $100 and then some.

Now, the three kits, being they were almost a year old, had been stored in my basement brewery, which keeps a constant 62-64 degrees year round. The crushed grains and malt extract were not stored in the fridge, but on a shelf. I figured that even if things were stale and the beers didn't come out good, I wasn't really going to care, as it would allow me to get back into the swing of things again, and start this hobby up again in full force.

On Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), I did go shopping, like the millions of other people that day. I woke up at my leisure, and got things around to make the first beer of the weekend... a Schwarzbier (Black Lager). I love the dark beers. I'll pick a dark beer over anything else, other than maybe a good, hoppy IPA. Surprisingly, the crushed grains did not smell stale, and there was no mold in the non-vacuumed sealed bag. No mold or other nasty stuff in the malt extract, so I felt I was good to go. About three hours later, I had my black lager in my 7 gallon glass carboy, tossed my Bavarian yeast starter into the carboy, gave it a few good shakes, and put the carboy into my brewery fridge at around 46-48 degrees... a good lagering temp. Got everything cleaned up and ready for the next day. Oh... and those Oktoberfest beers I mentioned at the beginning of this post... I now have fewer of them.

On Saturday, I started a little earlier in my brewing. This day, I would make a Spiced Winter Ale. The kit came with a little 1 ounce vacuumed sealed bag of Mulling Spice. As with the black lager, the crushed grains and malt extract, as well as the spices all smelled and looked ok, so I began my second day of brewing. After another three hours or so, the beer was in the other 7 gallon glass carboy, and I tossed in my Scotch Ale yeast starter, gave things a good shaking, and then covered the carboy with a black plastic garbage bag (light is not a beer's best friend, you know.)

After cleaning everything up and putting most everything away, including the rest of the empty Oktoberfest bottles that were consumed during this brewing day, I checked on my black lager. Things were percolating away nicely already, after only about 24 hours. It was a good start of things to come.

On Sunday, I checked on my Spiced Winter Ale, and the yeast had already begun it's wonderful work. The krausen was getting high in the carboy. I knew I should have put a blow-off hose in, but I didn't do it. Late Sunday evening, I went down to the brewery to check on my beers, and the Spiced Winter Ale was pushing the krausen into the airlock. I took it out, cleaned it up, and put it back into its place. Did the same thing on Monday morning, and then again at Noon on Monday afternoon. By Monday night, things slowed down and I didn't have to do anymore clean up.

It's now Wednesday, and things are still fermenting away. This weekend, I'll probably be ready to transfer my Spiced Winter Ale to a seconday fermenter (a 5 gallon glass carboy), but the black lager will need a few more days to fully ferment. I'll let the Winter Ale sit in secondary until I'm ready to bottle it. I'm not a kegger, so all my beers go into bottles, of which I have quite a collection. I'm thinking the Winter Ale may be ready to consume around Christmas, or shortly after New Year's Day. The black lager will be ready sometime late in January, early February.

The third and final beer kit that I have is a Rauchbier (Smoked Beer), which I have yet to make. I need to order some additional items for my yeast starter (dry malt extract), but I haven't done that yet. I must not procrastinate on this one...

I guess I should post the recipes, in case anyone is interested...

Spiced Winter Ale (courtesy of Northern Brewer)
O.G: 1047 / Ready: 6 weeks

We started with a malty, medium-bodied Scottish-style ale. We added a hand-mixed blend of mulling spices: Ceylon cloves, cracked cinnamon, allspice, cardamom and mace. The result is a pleasant, festive holiday ale, perfect to share with friends and family.

Specialty Grains
* 1 lbs. Simpsons Dark Crystal

Fermentables
* 6.3 lbs. Gold Malt Syrup

Boil Additions
* 1 oz. Argentina Cascade (60 min)
* 0.25 oz. Mulling Spices (60 min)
* 0.5 oz. Mulling Spices (0 min)

Special Ingredients
* 1/4 oz. Mulling Spices (add to secondary)

If you choose dry yeast
* Safale S-04. Optimum temperature: 64-75° F.

If you choose liquid yeast
* Wyeast #1728 Scottish Ale Yeast. Optimum temperature: 55-70° F.

Schwarzbier (courtesy of Northern Brewer)
O.G: 1052 / Ready: 2 months

The lager world's answer to porter and stout, this black beer from German is roasty, malty, and crisp. Debittered black malt gives a sharp, clean dryness, underscored by a rich, malty sweetness from Munich and German crystal malts. Since Schwarzbiers are more assertively hopped than many dark lagers, our kit loads up on hops. Not too bitter, not too sweet, Schwarzbier is very drinkable and forgiving to brew.

Specialty Grains
* 0.5 lbs. German Dark Crystal
* 0.5 lbs. Dingemans Debittered Black

Fermentables
* 6 lbs. Dark Malt Syrup
* 1 lbs. Dark Dry Malt Extract

Boil Additions
* 1 oz. Argentina Cascade (60 min)
* 1 oz. Argentina Cascade (30 min)

If you choose dry yeast
* Saflager S-23. Optimum temperature: 60-72° F.

If you choose liquid yeast
* Wyeast #2206 Bavarian Lager Yeast. Optimum temperature: 46-56° F.

Rauchbier (courtesy of Northern Brewer)
O.G: 1055 / Ready: 2 months

German for "smoke beer", this lager style is a specialty of the Bavarian city of Bamberg. They're often based on an Oktoberfest recipe, but brewed with a proportion of beechwood-smoked malt to create a rich, warm smoke aroma and flavor. Our Rauchbier kit yields an amber-red beer with an off-white head, substantial maltiness, and woodsy smokiness (the secret is authentic German beechwood-smoked rauchmalt from the heart of Rauchbier country). Enjoy this one in front of a blazing fire.

Specialty Grains
* 1.5 lbs. Rauchmalt
* 0.5 lbs. Weyermann CaraMunich I

Fermentables
* 6 lbs. Amber Malt Syrup
* 1 lb. Amber DME

Boil Additions
* 0.5 oz. Northern Brewer (60 min)
* 0.5 oz. Argentina Cascade (60 min)
* 0.5 oz. Argentina Cascade (30 min)

If you choose dry yeast
* Saflager W-34/70. Optimum temperature: 48-59° F.

If you choose liquid yeast
* Wyeast #2206 Bavarian Lager Yeast. Optimum temperature: 46-56° F.